The Struggle for Recognition: The Moral Grammar of Social Conflicts

This is a most remarkable book. The exposition and critical discussion are conducted with exemplary clarity. It may change intellectual lives; it will certainly attract a great deal of attention for many years to come.'' -- William Outhwaite, University of Sussex ''Honneth's book casts a flood of light on what has been an area of darkness, the place where the philosophical tradition and modern politics meet and interweave. Since neither is really comprehensible without the other, this work is essential reading for those who would understand either. It is a pathbreaking study, which ought to be at the center of the debate for many years to come.'' -- Charles Taylor, McGill University 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.