Jurgen Habermas is a German philosopher and social theorist widely regarded as one of the most influential thinkers of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. He is best known for his work on communicative rationality, the public sphere, and his comprehensive theory of societal evolution and modernization. Habermas's philosophical system aims to reveal the potential for reason, emancipation, and rational communication inherent in modern institutions and human capacities.