Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Arts & Culture
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Arts & Culture

Philosopher Publishes Book on Jürgen Habermas

Friday, October 16, 2015, By Sarah Scalese
Share
College of Arts and SciencesfacultyResearch and Creative

Kenneth Baynes, professor of philosophy in  the College of Arts and Sciences, is the author of “Habermas” (Routledge, 2015), a new book on the life and work of Jürgen Habermas, one of the world’s leading philosophers and sociologists.

Kenneth Baynes

Kenneth Baynes

Baynes, also a political science professor in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, says the book explores Habermas’ career up until the present—from his early analyses of the place of the public sphere in liberal society to his support for the European Union and post-national democracy.

“Habermas is perhaps best known for his defense of the Enlightenment values of freedom and equality against their truncated realization in contemporary capitalist societies and their outright rejection by some post-modern critics,” says Baynes, an expert in social and political philosophy.

The book also provides a critical assessment of Habermas’ theory of communicative action, which Baynes considers an “influential alternative” to Max Weber’s account of social action and discourse morality.

This is Baynes’ second book. His first, “The Normative Grounds of Social Criticism” (State University of New York Press, 1991), provides a comparative study of philosophers Immanuel Kant, John Rawls and Habermas.

Hugh Baxter, professor of law and philosophy at Boston University, considers the book an “exceptionally valuable introduction and guide” to Habermas’ career. “[He] links Habermas’ work to debates in recent American analytic philosophy, as well as to those of prominent European thinkers,” Baxter says. “It informs professional philosophical discussion, and serves as an accessible and reliable guide for graduate and advanced undergraduate courses.”

Baynes, who joined the Syracuse faculty in 2003, earned a Ph.D. in philosophy from Boston University, where, in addition to Stony Brook University, he has previously taught.

  • Author

Sarah Scalese

  • Recent
  • First-Year Law Student to First-Year Dean: Lau Combines Law and Business to Continue College of Law’s Upward Trajectory
    Thursday, June 26, 2025, By Robert Conrad
  • Student Innovations Shine at 2025 Invent@SU Presentations
    Thursday, June 26, 2025, By Alex Dunbar
  • Iran Escalation: Experts Available This Week
    Tuesday, June 24, 2025, By Vanessa Marquette
  • SCOTUS Win for Combat Veterans Backed by Syracuse Law Clinic
    Monday, June 23, 2025, By Vanessa Marquette
  • Syracuse Views Summer 2025
    Monday, June 23, 2025, By News Staff

More In Arts & Culture

Swinging Into Summer: Syracuse International Jazz Fest Returns With Star Power, Student Talent and a Soulful Campus Finale

Get ready for the sweet summer sounds of jazz in the city and on campus. The University is again a sponsor of the Syracuse International Jazz Fest, a five-day celebration of world-class jazz music and community spirit, taking place June…

Tiffany Xu Named Harry der Boghosian Fellow for 2025-26

The School of Architecture has announced that architect Tiffany Xu is the Harry der Boghosian Fellow for 2025–26. Xu will succeed current fellow, Erin Cuevas and become the tenth fellow at the school. The Boghosian Fellowship at the School of…

Syracuse Stage Concludes 2024-25 Season With ‘The National Pastime’

Syracuse Stage concludes its 2024-25 season with the world premiere production of “The National Pastime,” a provocative psychological thriller about state secrets, sonic weaponry, stolen baseball signs and the father and son relationship in the middle of it all. Written…

Syracuse Stage Hosts Inaugural Julie Lutz New Play Festival

Syracuse Stage is pleased to announce that the inaugural Julie Lutz New Play Festival will be held at the theatre this June. Formerly known as the Cold Read Festival of New Plays, the festival will feature a work-in-progress reading and…

Light Work Opens New Exhibitions

Light Work has two new exhibitions, “The Archive as Liberation” and “2025 Light Work Grants in Photography, that will run through Aug. 29. “The Archive as Liberation” The exhibition is on display in the Kathleen O. Ellis Gallery at Light…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2025 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.