Jürgen Habermas is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University of Frankfurt and one of the leading philosophers and social and political thinkers in the world today.

"Philosopher, social theorist, political gadfly – no single phrase can suffice to summarize the enormous intellectual impact of Jürgen Habermas in the modern era. His contributions to critical theory have transformed our thinking both within and beyond the precinct of critical theory. In this wide-ranging interview, Habermas reflects on his development and his legacy. A truly indispensable volume."Peter E. Gordon, Harvard University"poignant"Financial Times"It might be tempting to think that the ideas and values that Jürgen Habermas has championed over his long career are coming to the end of their useful lives, and that his causes might not outlive him – tempting, but completely wrong. Though Vladimir Putin may wish to rule like a tsar, he still needs to appear to legitimate his rule democratically, even if elections in Russia are currently a sham. And when Donald Trump addresses the UN, he cannot say that he knows climate change to be true, but does not care; instead, he presents his policies in favour of fossil fuels as rational, even though the science he offers in their defence is evident nonsense. We live in a Habermasian world, in which political problem-solving must be based on norms of communicative reasoning, even if today we languish in a feeble version of that world."Times Literary Supplement"For those of us who have been reading and thinking about Habermas since undergrad, Things Needed to Get Better provides considerable clarification on his influences and how they fit together... He comes across as the academic's academic, yes, but a living and human one."Liberal Currents

• 1 Beginnings of an Academic Biography2 Frankfurt, a New World and the Old Heidelberg3 From the Critique of Positivism to the Critique of Functionalist Reason4 Postmetaphysical Thinking and Detranscendentalized Reason5 Looking Back on Also a History of Philosophy6 In Philosophical Discourse with Friends and ColleaguesEditor’s NoteNotesIndex