The Return of the Critical :

Toward a Post-Habermasian Critical Sociology

Abstract

     In Erkenntnis und Interesse (1968), Jurgen Habermas made a plan for the critical sociology (critical social theory) as a research program which unified the theory and the practice. On the plan he tried to justify three categories of knowledge guided by interests, that is, the science guided by technological knowledge interests, the hermeneutics guided by practical knowledge interests, and the critical sociology guided by emancipative knowledge interests. This plan, however, was abandoned because of his turn away from the epistemology to the communication theory and the unification of the theory and the practice was not carried out. The failure of the plan was deeply rooted in the idea of “human subjects” which inherited from Hegelian-Marxian historical philosophy. But if such historical philosophy were abandoned, we would make a new plan for the critical sociology on the base of his plan without giving up the request of the unification of the theory and the practice. In fact much of recent critical researches seem to move to the direction beyond the dualism modern/postmodern.