Publicist Michel Friedman recently honored the late philosopher Jürgen Habermas as a formative influence in his life. “People like Jürgen Habermas made it possible for me, as a Jew, to live in Germany despite Auschwitz” Friedman told the newspaper “Die Zeit”.
In the post‑war society that was marked by denial, Friedman said younger figures such as Habermas provided a glimmer of hope. Habermas’s dedication to reason, public discourse and the idea of a liberal society that is accessible to everyone, he contended, cannot be overstated. “His appeal to reason, his insistence that democracy needs public debate, and the requirement that public space be equally accessible, have deeply shaped my thinking” Friedman added.
Habermas’s steadfast commitment to communicative reason remains exemplary. Friedman remarked, “The human being can think. They must think”. He went on to say, “A culture of debate is the oxygen of democracy”.