German philosopher and sociologist Jurgen Habermas, who left a major mark on 20th-century intellectual history with the concept of the ‘public sphere,’ has passed away. He was 96.

The German publisher Suhrkamp, citing his family, reported to dpa and others that Habermas passed away on the 14th (local time) in Starnberg, Bavaria, Germany.

Regarded as the philosopher who shaped the ‘conscience’ of postwar Germany, Habermas is counted among the most influential Western philosophers of the 20th century for his research on communication, rationality, and democratic theory. His political statements and voluminous writings have been read as attempts to explain how modern society and democracy operate.

He was born in June 1929 into a middle-class Protestant family in Dusseldorf. Habermas’s father joined the Nazi Party in 1933, and, like most German boys, he himself joined an organization under the Hitler Youth at age 10. He later recalled that, had he not, in his youth, confronted head-on the reality of Nazi crimes, he might not have taken the path of philosophy and social theory.

He studied philosophy, psychology, German literature, and economics at universities in Goettingen, Zurich, and Bonn. After working as a journalist, he built his academic foundation from the 1950s at the Frankfurt Institute for Social Research, the hub of the Frankfurt School, which critically reflected on modern society and culture on the basis of Marxism. Critically developing his mentor Theodor Adorno’s ‘critical theory,’ he elaborated the concepts of ‘communicative rationality’ and the ‘public sphere.’ His 1981 magnum opus <The Theory of Communicative Action> is regarded as a monumental work of modern philosophy.

The public sphere, as Habermas described it, is a social space where citizens form public opinion by rationally debating public issues. Through this concept, he explored the conditions necessary for the maintenance of democracy. In particular, his analysis of how the bourgeois public sphere that arose in 18th-century Europe’s salons and print culture was transformed into a public space centered on mass media in the 20th century resonated powerfully in West Germany, which was encountering free political debate for the first time after the collapse of the Nazi regime.

His concerns were also suffused with his personal history. Born with a cleft palate, he underwent multiple surgeries in childhood and had difficulty enunciating clearly. This experience is often cited as a background to his later preoccupation with language and communication. He understood the importance of speech as “a layer of commonality without which each of us cannot exist as an individual,” and he recalled the effort it took to make himself understood, the Guardian reported.

He was not confined to the ivory tower, but for decades was a leading engaged intellectual who actively voiced opinions on real-world political issues. Philipp Felsch, author of the biography <The Philosopher>, assessed Habermas as a ‘public educator’ who awakened postwar German society, Reuters reported. He consistently supported European integration as a safeguard against the resurgence of German nationalism, and he continued to participate in public debates through books and newspaper columns into old age.

In the 1980s, during the so-called ‘historians’ debate,’ Habermas was a key interlocutor. At the time, some conservative historians sought to diminish the singularity of the Nazi genocide of the Jews by comparing it to violence under other regimes. Habermas argued that squarely confronting historical wrongdoing and making reflective ‘coming to terms with the past’ central to national identity were essential. German society is seen as having internalized a ‘culture of contrition’ through such debates.

Habermas has long attracted great interest in South Korea as well. Since the late 1970s, when the Frankfurt School was introduced in earnest, his works have been steadily read, and his April 1996 visit further heightened public interest. A collection of his lectures, <New Horizons of Modernity: Seven Lectures from Habermas’s Visit to Korea>, was also published.

When his student Song Du-yul, a professor at the University of Munster in Germany who earned his doctorate under Habermas’s supervision, was indicted and detained in 2003 on charges of violating the National Security Law, Habermas took the lead in a campaign to secure his release, including by sending a petition to the Seoul District Court. At the time, Habermas said, “If he has any political motivation, it is only a passion for democratic patriotism,” adding, “If the National Security Law, already outdated and contrary to the rule-of-law principle, were to be applied once again, the Republic of Korea’s reputation would suffer a major loss in international public opinion.”

Even in his later years, he did not cease intervening in real-world politics. Some of his recent remarks, however, drew criticism from younger intellectuals. After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, he argued that military responses should be approached with caution and that the possibility of negotiations with Russia should remain open, sparking controversy. Following Hamas’s 2023 attacks, his comments to the effect that Israel’s war in Gaza was “in principle justified” provoked a fierce backlash from the next generation of philosophers who carry on the Frankfurt School’s critical theory.

His wife, the historian and teacher Ute Habermas-Wesselhoeft, passed away last year. The couple had three children, and their daughter Rebecca predeceased him in 2023. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in a statement that “his analytical acuity shaped democratic discourse far beyond borders and served as a lighthouse in rough seas,” adding, “We will miss his voice.”