7. The Theory Of Recognition And Critique Of Institutions

Abstract

In The Struggle for Recognition, Honneth states that the various forms of social injustice correspond to different types of social denial of recognition. But what precisely is social in recognition and denials of recognition? To answer this question, one has to describe the relationship between recognition understood as a fundamental expectation of individuals, and recognition produced by institutions. Firstly, the author opposes two conceptions of recognition: Honneth's theory of institutions as expressions of recognition, and a conception of recognition where institutions play a constitutive role. Secondly, the author tries and defines what institutions are and, thirdly, he proposes a definition of institutional effects of recognition. In conclusion, the author asks whether this conception of recognition has to be understood as complementing Honneth's theory, or competing with it. Keywords: Honneth; institutional effects; theory of institutions; theory of recognition