Abstract
This chapter focuses on a key notion of the normative social theory that Axel Honneth first presented in The Struggle for Recognition and developed in subsequent articles and books, notably in Redistribution or Recognition? The author aims is to ask to what extent this expectation of freedom from experiences of disrespect is warranted and desirable in post-traditional, pluralistic societies. He confronts Honneth's theory with the possibility that, even in the most civilised and just pluralistic societies, some experiences of (mental) pain and disrespect caused by misrecognition are likely to continue to exist. The author argues that suffering from the misrecognition of one's concrete traits and abilities is often an unavoidable and irreparable cost of standing up for one's ideas about what is valuable in life in a genuinely pluralistic society. He concludes with a proposal of a conception of ethical life that incorporates his criticism of Honneth's account. Keywords: Axel Honneth; ethical life; pluralistic society
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