Renowned German philosopher and sociologist Jürgen Habermas passed away

(Patria) - Renowned German philosopher and sociologist Jürgen Habermas passed away today in the town of Starnberg at the age of 96, writes Deutsche Welle.

Habermas was one of the most important thinkers of contemporary times.

His main works were created in Frankfurt, where he began his career in the 1950s at the Institute for Social Research under the philosopher and sociologist Theodor W. Adorno.

In 1961, he completed his post-doctoral qualification (Habilitation) in Marburg with the work "The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere".

After several years at the University of Heidelberg, in 1964 he took over Max Horkheimer's chair for philosophy and sociology at the University of Frankfurt.

His inaugural lecture resulted in the book "Knowledge and Interest" (1968).

During the student unrest, Habermas was perceived as a supporter of the movement, but he rejected its radicalization.

In 1971, he moved to Starnberg near Munich, where he headed the Max Planck Institute for Research on the Conditions of Life in the Scientific-Technical World until 1981.

In the last year of that period, he published his main work "The Theory of Communicative Action".

In 1983, he returned to Frankfurt, where he again took over the chair for philosophy until his retirement in 1994.

In his later years, which he spent by Lake Starnberg, he commented on political issues, for example, on brain research or religious conflicts, as well as on the Kosovo War.

Habermas considered the NATO intervention in 1999 to be a form of "legitimized assistance", even though it was carried out without the approval of the United Nations.