Jürgen Habermas belonged to the philosophical Frankfurt School, which was sharply critical of the violent thinking of totalitarian regimes, but also deeply questioning the development of the modern, capitalist consumer society.
He was born in Düsseldorf in 1929, as Nazism was growing in strength in Germany. As a child, he became part of Nazism - only to later distance himself from it.
Questioning power
As part of the German post-war generation, he became a prominent figure for questioning prevailing power relations through works on, among other things, bourgeois society and the public versus the private sphere.
Habermas became a professor in Heidelberg, and later in Frankfurt where he succeeded Max Horkheimer in 1964 - and thus became one of the leaders of the Frankfurt School.
Withdrew
His philosophical thinking, along with that of the older Theodor Adorno and the radical Herbert Marcuse, among others, helped lead left-wing movements of the late 20th century. In 1971, Habermas broke with the Frankfurt School.
The philosopher largely retired in 1994, but continued to publish extensively. He advocated pan-European democracy and was opposed to nuclear weapons.
For example, Habermas published extensive correspondence with the respected Joseph Ratzinger, who later became Pope Benedict XVI. Despite ideological animosity, the two expressed enormous respect for each other.
