The Struggle for Recognition: The Moral Grammar of Social Conflicts (Studies in Contemporary German Social Thought) [Paperback]

Axel Honneth (Author), Joel Anderson (Translator)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0262581477 | ISBN-13: 978-0262581479 | Publication Date: October 11, 1996 | Edition: 1st MIT Press ed

In this pathbreaking study, Axel Honneth argues that "the struggle for recognition" is, and should be, at the center of social conflicts. Moving smoothly between moral philosophy and social theory, Honneth offers insights into such issues as the social forms of recognition and nonrecognition, the moral basis of interaction in human conflicts, the relation between the recognition model and conceptions of modernity, the normative basis of social theory, and the possibility of mediating between Hegel and Kant.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Honneth's book casts a flood of light on what has been an area ofdarkness, the place where the philosophical tradition and modernpolitics meet and interweave. Since neither is really comprehensiblewithout the other, this work is essential reading for those who wouldunderstand either. It is a pathbreaking study, which ought to be atthe center of the debate for many years to come." Charles Taylor , McGill University

"This is a most remarkable book. The exposition and criticaldiscussion are conducted with exemplary clarity. It may changeintellectual lives; it will certainly attract a great deal ofattention for many years to come." William Outhwaite , University of Sussex

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: German

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: The MIT Press; 1st MIT Press ed edition (October 11, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0262581477
• ISBN-13: 978-0262581479
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #748,877 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Meadian Variations, December 5, 2003

By 

Jeffrey Rubard (Beaverton, OR US) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Struggle for Recognition: The Moral Grammar of Social Conflicts (Studies in Contemporary German Social Thought) (Paperback)

Although you'd hardly know it by looking at recent sales, Axel Honneth is one of the world's major intellectuals; and has perhaps the most advanced sensibility in social theory today, as evidenced by this book and his earlier *Critique of Power*. Both are crisp, lucid expositions of themes drawn both from classic sociology and German Idealism. Honneth has done much to "re-sociologize" the work of the *second* Frankfurt School workgroup. Here he follows the lead of Hans Joas and treats George Herbert Mead as a substantive social theorist rather than a "pragmatic" wish-fulfiller; and this according to the principles of *ego psychology*.

In the 80s and 90s ego psychologists were scorned as psychological "River Rouge workers", but worse things have existed -- and furthermore, the principles of ego psychology provide a firm grounding for discussing questions of desert and other "normativities" found in moral discourse. Which discourse perhaps ordinarily obeys a none-too-transparent logic, a question raised by the recent work of Martha Nussbaum and Amartya Sen on "welfare economics" outside questions of political desert; and Honneth's none-too-opaque constructions provide a solid grounding for raising necessary question the legitimacy of socialist strategies still obsessed with unclear questions of "micropower".