Axel Honneth and the theory of recognition

The aim of this book is to examine the concept of recognition in the thought of contemporary philosopher Axel Honneth. For this this study uses as its main work the book Struggle for recognition: The moral grammar of social conflicts. In it the author presents the recognition as an essential factor for the construction of social conflicts. At first Honneth identifies in the writings of the young Hegel and in Mead''s empirical tests the distinction of three positive forms of recognition: Love Law and Solidarity. However these identified concepts do not provide the necessary impetus for recognition struggles that are morally motivated. The impetus for conflicts originates through experiences of disrespect: mistreatment and violation disenfranchisement and exclusion and finally offense and degradation. Moreover the struggle for recognition is constituted on the basis of continuous action the search for rights is a process that is not constituted immediately but on the basis of historical process. Throughout this work we can observe the moral grammar that is capable of enabling the process of formation of social conflicts.