Abstract

The aim of this book is to analyse the notion of recognition and to reconstruct the different conceptualisations of this notion by Axel Honneth. In the course of my reflections, I identify the intrinsic ambiguities of Honneth's theory of recognition and indicate the most important points in the evolution of Honneth's thought. As an analytical background, I use the concepts of individualisation and universalisation developed by Mark Jan Siemek, which are applied, to systematise Honneth's theory and resolve its initial ambiguities. In the book I distinguish four basic contexts for the use of the concept of recognition. These contexts relate to the four levels of social structure within which Honneth reflects (subjective level, intersubjective relationship level, institutional level and value level). The research carried out indicates that there is a feedback loop between these levels. In the following chapters, I move from introducing the reader to the subject of recognition theory (formulating the main theoretical assumptions and introducing the research tools used) to a systematic presentation of the feedback occurring between the distinguished levels of social structure The analyses carried out make it possible, in the end, to provide a synthetic characterisation of the different levels of social structure within which the concept of recognition is applied in Axeal Honneth's philosophy. By confronting the hitherto scattered theses concerning the concept of recognition with each other, which allows a more precise separation of these.