Axel Honneth
Encyclopedia
Axel Honneth is a professor of philosophy at the University of Frankfurt, Germany and director of the Institut für Sozialforschung (Institute for Social Research
) in Frankfurt am Main, Germany
.
on July 18, 1949, studied in Bonn
, Bochum
, Berlin
and Munich
(under Jürgen Habermas
), and taught at the Free University of Berlin
and the New School
before moving to the Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University of Frankfurt in 1996. In 2001, he became director of the Institute for Social Research, originally home to the so-called Frankfurt School
, at the University of Frankfurt.
His first main work The Critique of Power: Reflective Stages in a Critical Social Theory explores the affinities between the Frankfurt School and Michel Foucault
. In his second main work The Struggle for Recognition: Moral Grammar of Social Conflicts, the recognition concept is derived mainly from G.W.F. Hegel's early social philosophical works, but is supplemented by George Herbert Mead
's social psychology, Habermas's communicative ethics, and Winnicott's object relation theory. Honneth's critical adaptation of these is the basis of his critical social theory, which attempts to remedy the deficits of previous approaches. Honneth co-authored Recognition or Redistribution? with feminist philosopher Nancy Fraser
in 2003, who criticizes the priority of ethical categories such as recognition over structural social-political categories such as redistribution in Honneth's thought. His recent work Reification
reformulates this key "Western Marxist
" concept in terms of intersubjective relations of recognition and power. For Honneth, all forms of reification are due to intersubjectively based pathologies rather than the structural character of social systems such as capitalism
as argued by Karl Marx
and György Lukács.
Secondary Sources
Bert van den Brink and David Owen, Recognition and Power: Axel Honneth and the Tradition of Critical Social Theory (Cambridge University Press, 2007).
Deranty, Jean-Philippe, Beyond Communication: A Critical Study of Axel Honneth's Social Philosophy (Brill, 2009).
Iser, Matthias, Emporung und Fortschritt. Grundlagen einer Kritischen Theorie der Gesellschaft (Campus, 2008).
Schmidt-am-Busch, Hans-Christoph and Zurn, Christopher (eds), The Philosophy of Recognition. Historical and Contemporary Perspectives (Lexington Books, 2009)
Thompson, Simon, The Political Theory of Recognition. A Critical Introduction (Polity, 2006).
Huttunen, Rauno, Habermas, Honneth and Education (Lambert Academic Publishing 2009).
Institute for Social Research
The Institute for Social Research is a research organization for sociology and continental philosophy, best known as the institutional home of the Frankfurt School and critical theory....
) in Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
Biography
Honneth was born in EssenEssen
- Origin of the name :In German-speaking countries, the name of the city Essen often causes confusion as to its origins, because it is commonly known as the German infinitive of the verb for the act of eating, and/or the German noun for food. Although scholars still dispute the interpretation of...
on July 18, 1949, studied in Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
, Bochum
Bochum
Bochum is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, western Germany. It is located in the Ruhr area and is surrounded by the cities of Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Herne, Castrop-Rauxel, Dortmund, Witten and Hattingen.-History:...
, Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
and Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
(under Jürgen Habermas
Jürgen Habermas
Jürgen Habermas is a German sociologist and philosopher in the tradition of critical theory and pragmatism. He is perhaps best known for his theory on the concepts of 'communicative rationality' and the 'public sphere'...
), and taught at the Free University of Berlin
Free University of Berlin
Freie Universität Berlin is one of the leading and most prestigious research universities in Germany and continental Europe. It distinguishes itself through its modern and international character. It is the largest of the four universities in Berlin. Research at the university is focused on the...
and the New School
The New School
The New School is a university in New York City, located mostly in Greenwich Village. From its founding in 1919 by progressive New York academics, and for most of its history, the university was known as the New School for Social Research. Between 1997 and 2005 it was known as New School University...
before moving to the Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University of Frankfurt in 1996. In 2001, he became director of the Institute for Social Research, originally home to the so-called Frankfurt School
Frankfurt School
The Frankfurt School refers to a school of neo-Marxist interdisciplinary social theory, particularly associated with the Institute for Social Research at the University of Frankfurt am Main...
, at the University of Frankfurt.
Research
Honneth's work focuses on social-political and moral philosophy, especially relations of power, recognition, and respect. One of his core arguments is for the priority of intersubjective relationships of recognition in understanding social relations. This includes non- and mis-recognition as a basis of social and interpersonal conflict. For instance, grievances regarding the distribution of goods in society are ultimately struggles for recognition.His first main work The Critique of Power: Reflective Stages in a Critical Social Theory explores the affinities between the Frankfurt School and Michel Foucault
Michel Foucault
Michel Foucault , born Paul-Michel Foucault , was a French philosopher, social theorist and historian of ideas...
. In his second main work The Struggle for Recognition: Moral Grammar of Social Conflicts, the recognition concept is derived mainly from G.W.F. Hegel's early social philosophical works, but is supplemented by George Herbert Mead
George Herbert Mead
George Herbert Mead was an American philosopher, sociologist and psychologist, primarily affiliated with the University of Chicago, where he was one of several distinguished pragmatists. He is regarded as one of the founders of social psychology and the American sociological tradition in general.-...
's social psychology, Habermas's communicative ethics, and Winnicott's object relation theory. Honneth's critical adaptation of these is the basis of his critical social theory, which attempts to remedy the deficits of previous approaches. Honneth co-authored Recognition or Redistribution? with feminist philosopher Nancy Fraser
Nancy Fraser
Nancy Fraser is an American critical theorist, currently the Henry A. and Louise Loeb Professor of Political and Social Science and professor of philosophy at The New School in New York City...
in 2003, who criticizes the priority of ethical categories such as recognition over structural social-political categories such as redistribution in Honneth's thought. His recent work Reification
Reification (Marxism)
Reification or Versachlichung, literally "objectification" or regarding something as a separate business matter) is the consideration of an abstraction, relation or object as if they had human or living existence and abilities, when in reality they do not...
reformulates this key "Western Marxist
Western Marxism
Western Marxism is a term used to describe a wide variety of Marxist theoreticians based in Western and Central Europe, in contrast with philosophy in the Soviet Union...
" concept in terms of intersubjective relations of recognition and power. For Honneth, all forms of reification are due to intersubjectively based pathologies rather than the structural character of social systems such as capitalism
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
as argued by Karl Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
and György Lukács.
Works translated into English
- Social Action and Human Nature, co-authored with Hans Joas (Cambridge University Press, 1988).
- The Critique of Power: Reflective Stages in a Critical Social Theory (MIT Press, 1993).
- The Fragmented World of the Social: Essays in Social and Political Philosophy (SUNY Press, 1995).
- The Struggle for Recognition: The Moral Grammar of Social Conflicts (Polity Press, 1996).
- Redistribution or Recognition?: A Political-Philosophical Exchange, co-authored with Nancy Fraser (Verso, 2003).
- Reification: A Recognition-Theoretical View (Oxford University Press, 2007).
- Disrespect: The Normative Foundations of Critical Theory (Polity Press, 2007).
- Pathologies of Reason: On the Legacy of Critical Theory (2009).
- The Pathologies of Individual Freedom: Hegel's Social Theory (2010).
Secondary Sources
Bert van den Brink and David Owen, Recognition and Power: Axel Honneth and the Tradition of Critical Social Theory (Cambridge University Press, 2007).
Deranty, Jean-Philippe, Beyond Communication: A Critical Study of Axel Honneth's Social Philosophy (Brill, 2009).
Iser, Matthias, Emporung und Fortschritt. Grundlagen einer Kritischen Theorie der Gesellschaft (Campus, 2008).
Schmidt-am-Busch, Hans-Christoph and Zurn, Christopher (eds), The Philosophy of Recognition. Historical and Contemporary Perspectives (Lexington Books, 2009)
Thompson, Simon, The Political Theory of Recognition. A Critical Introduction (Polity, 2006).
Huttunen, Rauno, Habermas, Honneth and Education (Lambert Academic Publishing 2009).
External links
- Tanner Lecture on Reification, 2005
- 2006 Program of Research: Paradoxes of Capitalist Modernization
- Joel Anderson's Introduction to The Struggle for Recognition.
- Honneth in London Axel Honneth in conversation with Peter Dews, 2007
- Homepages of Axel Honneth at the University of Frankfurt and the Institute for Social Research.
- 2007 Talks by Honneth
- "Patterns of Intersubjective Recognition: Love, Rights, and Solidarity" by Honneth
- Chapter 1, The Pathologies of Individual Freedom: Hegel's Social Theory (2010)
- Recognition Forum (Research on recognition theory, bibliographies, theses, events, forum)
- Interview with Axel Honneth, Barcelona Metropolis, num. 78, Spring, 2010.
See also
- Social exclusionSocial exclusionSocial exclusion is a concept used in many parts of the world to characterise contemporary forms of social disadvantage. Dr. Lynn Todman, director of the Institute on Social Exclusion at the Adler School of Professional Psychology, suggests that social exclusion refers to processes in which...
- Recognition
- Frankfurt SchoolFrankfurt SchoolThe Frankfurt School refers to a school of neo-Marxist interdisciplinary social theory, particularly associated with the Institute for Social Research at the University of Frankfurt am Main...