Date: Sat, 13 May 1995 03:12:46 +0200 (CST)
From: Dr Frederik van Gelder <Gelder-AT-em.uni-frankfurt.de>
Subject: Re: HAB: psychoanalysis




On Thu, 11 May 1995, Patrick Patterson wrote:

> In regard to the 
> continuity question in Habermas's work, I have always 
> understood the early distinction between the technical, 
> practical and emancipatory interests as carried over into 
> the latter distinction between system and life world. Lenny 
> Moss is right to point to the discontinuity in Habermas' 
> work in the abandonment of the psychoanalytic model for 
> "empirically testable reconstructions of the developmental 
> pathway by which the general structures of rationality 
> employed by any competent social actor are obtained." 
> 
> I have to raise the question though of what was lost with 
> this change in the model of emancipation. 

I've written a whole book on this subject: *Habermas' Begriff des 
Historischen Materialismus*, 1990. (In case you read german) I could try 
to respond in more detail if you're interested. 

Regards

Dr. Frederik van Gelder
Institut fuer Sozialforschung
University of Frankfurt


P.S. One floor down from where I'm typing this onto a screen is Adorno's 
erstwhile office; two floors down Horkheimer's. I'm exploring the idea of 
establishing a WWW site as well as a listserv on everything to do with 
Habermas and the Frankfurt School. An indication of the number of people 
potentially interested in such an Internet resource - and reading 
this mail - would be welcome: a one-liner: "count me in" will do.