French Literature Reviews - 2026
A. Honneth, The Struggle for Recognition
Philosophy, Anthropology and Ideas
The Struggle for Recognition
Axel Honneth
Pierre Rusch (Translator)
PUBLICATION DATE: 07/02/13 PUBLISHER: Gallimard (Editions) SERIES: Folio essais ISBN: 978-2-07-044357-4 EAN: 9782070443574 FORMAT: Pocket PRESENTATION: Paperback NO. OF PAGES: 350 p.
Today, Axel Honneth is internationally recognized as the leading representative of the third generation of the Frankfurt School. He has maintained its critical trajectory, particularly that of modern social philosophy which, since Machiavelli and Hobbes, has presupposed a hostile relationship between individuals seeking to secure the conditions of their survival. Drawing on the early Hegel, Axel Honneth interprets human conflicts through the lens of a struggle for recognition: he thus highlights the moral dimension inherent in any conflict and reconstructs social evolution based on real or symbolic struggles in which the individual seeks not so much to eliminate their opponent as to be recognized by them in their individuality (whether through love, rights, or solidarity).
Furthermore, modern social psychology (specifically the work of G. H. Mead and D. W. Winnicott) roots this approach in the developmental mechanisms of the human personality. In this book, which has formed the foundation of all his subsequent work, Axel Honneth distinguishes three forms of disrespect—physical abuse, denial of rights, and degradation of individual dignity—corresponding to the developmental stages of relations of recognition. In doing so, he provides us with a valuable critical tool: a true "moral grammar of social conflicts," grounded in an integrated theory of human nature and society.
Contents:
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND: HEGEL'S ORIGINAL IDEA
The struggle for existence: the birth of modern social philosophy
Crime and ethical life: Hegel's new approach
The struggle for recognition: the social theory of Hegel's Realphilosophie
SYSTEMATIC RE-ACTUALIZATION: THE STRUCTURE OF SOCIAL RECOGNITION RELATIONSHIPS
Recognition and socialization: G. H. Mead and the naturalistic transformation of the Hegelian idea
Patterns of intersubjective recognition: love, rights, solidarity
Personal identity and disrespect: threats to the physical, legal, and moral integrity of the human person
PERSPECTIVE OF SOCIAL PHILOSOPHY: MORALITY AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIETY
A fragmented tradition of modern social philosophy: Marx, Sorel, Sartre
Disrespect and resistance: the moral logic of social conflicts
The intersubjective conditions of personal integrity: a formal outline of ethical life
Axel Honneth, a philosopher and sociologist, has directed the Institute for Social Research at the University of Frankfurt since 2001, succeeding Jürgen Habermas.
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An article about this book can be read on the website nonfiction.fr:
As a central figure of the Frankfurt School tradition, Axel Honneth reinterprets modern social philosophy by shifting the focus from mere self-preservation to an intersubjective moral struggle. Building upon the early writings of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, the author demonstrates how human conflicts are fundamentally driven by the desire for mutual acknowledgment rather than simple antagonism. By integrating insights from developmental psychology and psychoanalysis, the study bridges the gap between abstract philosophical theory and the concrete psychological needs of the human personality.
This accessible paperback edition serves as an essential resource for students and scholars of philosophy, sociology, and political theory who seek to understand the ethical dimensions of social movements. The book provides a robust conceptual framework for analyzing contemporary issues related to justice, marginalization, and human rights. It will prove particularly useful for readers interested in critical theory and the ways in which modern societies negotiate the complex relationships between individual identity, legal rights, and social solidarity.