In this episode, Ibrar Bhatt talks with Irfan Ahmad about his article ‘Habermas as an ethnic thinker Par Excellence: on critique, Palestine and the role of intellectuals’. While Habermas is often regarded as a philosopher of universalism and critical rationality, Irfan challenges this view, arguing that Habermas is, in fact, an ethnic thinker. His approach to critique and universalism operates unidirectionally—emphasising ‘to all’ rather than ‘from all’—which ultimately reflects an asymmetry in the intellectual traditions he engages with. This perspective offers important insights for teaching in higher education.

You can read Irfan Ahmad's article here:

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13562517.2025.2466001