Things Needed to Get Better

In this book, Things Needed to Get Better, Jürgen Habermas offers a wide-ranging reflection on his life, work, and the factors that shaped the development of his thought. He discusses the motives behind his work, the circumstances under which it emerged, and the changes it has undergone over the course of his long and productive career. He speaks about the events and the texts that played a decisive role in his thinking and recounts key encounters with colleagues. The image that emerges is that of a richly intertwined network of relationships which covers large swathes of the intellectual map of the twentieth century and reaches through to the present day.

Looking back at the development of his thought, Habermas discusses the specific historical circumstances that shaped his generation, identifies key experiences with his intellectual mentors, explores recent historical tendencies and political beliefs, and talks about his own scholarly works and their reception. Time and again, we see the normative impulse that lies behind so much of Habermas’s work: ‘I view the attempt to make the world even the tiniest bit better, or even just to be part of the effort to stave off the constant threats of regression that we face, as an utterly admirable motive.’

This autobiographical self-reflection by one of the greatest philosophers of our time will be of interest to a wide readership.