In Between Facts and Norms Habermas works out the legal and political implications of his theoretical approach, bringing to fruition the project announced more than three decades ago in The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere. Between Facts and Norms is a major contribution to current debates on the role of law and the prospects for the development of democracy in contemporary societies. Habermas develops a distinctive account of the nature of law, arguing that law is characterized by an internal tension between factual and normative aspects. He links this account to a broader argument concerning the formation of the modern constitutional state and the role of democratic deliberation as a means of securing the legitimacy of legal norms in complex, pluralistic societies. Habermas develops a proceduralist conception of democracy which emphasizes the importance of citizens organizing themselves in informal associations and voicing their concerns in a variety of public settings. If the formal processes of law-making in modern societies are to sustain their legitimacy, they must be capable of taking account of the concerns of ordinary citizens. In our complex, pluralistic societies, the legitimacy of political decision-making processes depends on a robust civil society and a vibrant public sphere. Between Facts and Norms is an outstanding work by one the most important social and political thinkers of our time. It will be a focal point of debate for many years to come in the fields of social and political theory, sociology, politics and philosophy.

哈貝馬斯，生於1928年，先後在德國哥廷根大學，瑞士蘇黎士大學、德國波恩大學學習哲學、心理學、曆史學、經濟學等。1961-1964年任海德堡大學哲學教授，1964-1967年任法蘭剋福大學哲學－社會學教授，法蘭剋福大學研究所所長，1971-1983年任德國普朗剋研究院科技世界生活條件研究所所長，1983-1994年任法蘭剋福大學哲學－社會學教授，1994年退休。

哈貝馬斯是當代西方重要的理論社會學傢、哲學傢，在德國乃至歐洲、北美的哲學和社會學領域有著廣泛的影響。他的著作很多，幾乎每一本著作的齣版都被視為哲學界的一件大事。他的主要著作有：《公共領域的結構轉型》（1962）、《理論與實踐》（1963）、《知識與興趣》（1968）、《晚期資本主義的閤法性問題》（1973）、《交往行為理論》（1981）、《交往行為理論（補充與論證）》（1984）、《現代性的哲學話語》（1985）、《後形而上學思維》（1988）以及《在事實與規範之間》（1994）等等。