Between Hermeneutics and Systematicity: The Habermasian Method of Theorizing

Abstract Jürgen Habermas’s work is analyzed as an outstanding combination of hermeneutic sensitivity to different theories and systematic theory integration. Habermas’s theoretical method revolves around a problem-centered understanding of theory that interprets it as a response to specific problems. The methodological reconstruction of key texts shows that he used the distinction of theory and problem as an all-purpose device for interpretation, critique, and theory construction. This method is superior to other, more common ways of integrating theoretical plurality.