|
Showing 1 - 7 of
7 matches in All Departments
Recognition is one of the most debated concepts in contemporary
social and political thought. Its proponents, such as Axel Honneth,
hold that to be recognized by others is a basic human need that is
central to forming an identity, and the denial of recognition
deprives individuals and communities of something essential for
their flourishing. Yet critics including Judith Butler have
questioned whether recognition is implicated in structures of
domination, arguing that the desire to be recognized can motivative
individuals to accept their assigned place in the social order by
conforming to oppressive norms or obeying repressive institutions.
Is there a way to break this impasse? Recognition and Ambivalence
brings together leading scholars in social and political philosophy
to develop new perspectives on recognition and its role in social
life. It begins with a debate between Honneth and Butler, the first
sustained engagement between these two major thinkers on this
subject. Contributions from both proponents and critics of theories
of recognition further reflect upon and clarify the problems and
challenges involved in theorizing the concept and its normative
desirability. Together, they explore different routes toward a
critical theory of recognition, departing from wholly positive or
negative views to ask whether it is an essentially ambivalent
phenomenon. Featuring original, systematic work in the philosophy
of recognition, this book also provides a useful orientation to the
key debates on this important topic.
Recognition is one of the most debated concepts in contemporary
social and political thought. Its proponents, such as Axel Honneth,
hold that to be recognized by others is a basic human need that is
central to forming an identity, and the denial of recognition
deprives individuals and communities of something essential for
their flourishing. Yet critics including Judith Butler have
questioned whether recognition is implicated in structures of
domination, arguing that the desire to be recognized can motivative
individuals to accept their assigned place in the social order by
conforming to oppressive norms or obeying repressive institutions.
Is there a way to break this impasse? Recognition and Ambivalence
brings together leading scholars in social and political philosophy
to develop new perspectives on recognition and its role in social
life. It begins with a debate between Honneth and Butler, the first
sustained engagement between these two major thinkers on this
subject. Contributions from both proponents and critics of theories
of recognition further reflect upon and clarify the problems and
challenges involved in theorizing the concept and its normative
desirability. Together, they explore different routes toward a
critical theory of recognition, departing from wholly positive or
negative views to ask whether it is an essentially ambivalent
phenomenon. Featuring original, systematic work in the philosophy
of recognition, this book also provides a useful orientation to the
key debates on this important topic.
Axel Honneth is widely credited with being one of the most
important contemporary critical theorists. His oeuvre which spans
more than four decades of writing-from his early engagement with
critique in the Frankfurt School tradition to his theory of
recognition and the latest discussions of freedom in modern ethical
life and the question of socialism-has been enormously influential
in the shaping of current critical theory and beyond. This volume
takes the central themes of Honneth's work as a starting point for
debating the present and future of critical theory as a form of
socially grounded philosophy that is geared towards analyzing and
critiquing society. The volume brings together leading scholars in
contemporary social and political philosophy. Honneth's writings
revolve around five key themes: critique, recognition, freedom,
progress and socialism. His arguments with respect to each of these
themes have substantially advanced current debates in critical
theory and social and political philosophy more generally. The
contributing authors take on these five themes and use them as a
springboard to structure their discussion of the future of critical
theory in our contemporary moment.
Axel Honneth is widely credited with being one of the most
important contemporary critical theorists. His oeuvre which spans
more than four decades of writing-from his early engagement with
critique in the Frankfurt School tradition to his theory of
recognition and the latest discussions of freedom in modern ethical
life and the question of socialism-has been enormously influential
in the shaping of current critical theory and beyond. This volume
takes the central themes of Honneth's work as a starting point for
debating the present and future of critical theory as a form of
socially grounded philosophy that is geared towards analyzing and
critiquing society. The volume brings together leading scholars in
contemporary social and political philosophy. Honneth's writings
revolve around five key themes: critique, recognition, freedom,
progress and socialism. His arguments with respect to each of these
themes have substantially advanced current debates in critical
theory and social and political philosophy more generally. The
contributing authors take on these five themes and use them as a
springboard to structure their discussion of the future of critical
theory in our contemporary moment.
That we can hope is one of the capacities that define us as human
beings. To hope means not just to have beliefs about what will
happen, but to imagine the future as potentially fulfilling some of
our most important wishes. It is therefore not surprising that hope
has received attention by philosophers, psychologists and by
religious thinkers throughout the ages. The contributions in this
volume, written by leading scholars in the philosophy of hope,
gives a systematic overview over the philosophical history of hope,
about contemporary debates and about the role of hope in our
collective life.
That we can hope is one of the capacities that define us as human
beings. To hope means not just to have beliefs about what will
happen, but to imagine the future as potentially fulfilling some of
our most important wishes. It is therefore not surprising that hope
has received attention by philosophers, psychologists and by
religious thinkers throughout the ages. The contributions in this
volume, written by leading scholars in the philosophy of hope,
gives a systematic overview over the philosophical history of hope,
about contemporary debates and about the role of hope in our
collective life.
When we criticize social institutions and practices, what kinds of
reasons can we offer for such criticism? Political philosophers
often assume that we must rely on universal moral principles that
are not necessarily connected to the particular social practices of
our communities. Traditionally, continental critical theory has
rejected this claim through its endorsement of the method of
immanent critique. Immanent critique is a critique of social
practices that draws on norms already present within these
practices to demand social change, rather than merely
conservatively reproducing them. Titus Stahl defends the claim that
such a critique is not only possible, but also has politically
powerful potential. Taking up recent developments in analytic
enquiry into collective intentionality theory and in the philosophy
of language, he argues that all social practices rest on structures
of mutual recognition between persons that allow social theorists
to reconstruct hidden norms present within these practices.
Starting from a comprehensive critique of contemporary critical
theory, Immanent Critique also spells out the consequences of this
line of thought for the practice of social critique, for the social
sciences and for political philosophy. The translation of this work
was funded by Geisteswissenschaften International - Translation
Funding for Humanities and Social Sciences from Germany, a joint
initiative of the Fritz Thyssen Foundation, the German Federal
Foreign Office, the collecting society VG WORT and the
Boersenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels (German Publisher &
Booksellers Association)
|
|