Axel Honneth (; ; born 18 July 1949) is a
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
philosopher
A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...
who is the Professor for
Social Philosophy
Social philosophy examines questions about the foundations of social institutions, social behavior, and interpretations of society in terms of ethical values rather than empirical relations. Social philosophers emphasize understanding the social ...
at
Goethe University Frankfurt
Goethe University (german: link=no, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main) is a university located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It was founded in 1914 as a citizens' university, which means it was founded and funded by the wealt ...
and the
Jack B. Weinstein Professor of the Humanities in the department of
philosophy
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
at
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
. He was also director of the ''Institut für Sozialforschung'' (
Institute for Social Research
The Institute for Social Research (german: Institut für Sozialforschung, IfS) is a research organization for sociology and continental philosophy, best known as the institutional home of the Frankfurt School and critical theory. Currently a pa ...
) in
Frankfurt am Main
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
between 2001 and 2018.
Biography
Honneth was born in
Essen,
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
on 18 July 1949, studied in
Bonn
The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr r ...
,
Bochum,
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
and
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
(under
Jürgen Habermas), and taught at the
Free University of Berlin
The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public research university in Berlin, Germany. It is consistently ranked among Germany's best universities, with particular strengths in political science and t ...
and
the New School
The New School is a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for progressive thinkers. ...
before moving to the Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University of Frankfurt in 1996. He also held the Spinoza Chair of Philosophy at the
University of Amsterdam
The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, nl, Universiteit van Amsterdam) is a public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The UvA is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the other being ...
in 1999. Between 2001 and 2018 he was director of the Institute for Social Research, originally home to the so-called
Frankfurt School
The Frankfurt School (german: Frankfurter Schule) is a school of social theory and critical philosophy associated with the Institute for Social Research, at Goethe University Frankfurt in 1929. Founded in the Weimar Republic (1918–1933), dur ...
, at the University of Frankfurt. Since 2011, he is also Jack B. Weinstein Professor of the Humanities at the department of philosophy at
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
in the City of New York.
Research
Honneth's work focuses on social-political and
moral philosophy
Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns ...
, especially relations of
power
Power most often refers to:
* Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work"
** Engine power, the power put out by an engine
** Electric power
* Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events
** Abusive power
Power may a ...
,
recognition
Recognition may refer to:
*Award, something given in recognition of an achievement
Machine learning
*Pattern recognition, a branch of machine learning which encompasses the meanings below
Biometric
* Recognition of human individuals, or biomet ...
, and respect. One of his core arguments is for the priority of
intersubjective
In philosophy, psychology, sociology, and anthropology, intersubjectivity is the relation or intersection between people's cognitive perspectives.
Definition
is a term coined by social scientists to refer to a variety of types of human inter ...
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 justice.
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
Paul-Michel Foucault (, ; ; 15 October 192625 June 1984) was a French philosopher, historian of ideas, writer, political activist, and literary critic. Foucault's theories primarily address the relationship between power and knowledge, and how ...
. 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 (February 27, 1863 – April 26, 1931) 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 a ...
's
social psychology
Social psychology is the scientific study of how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the real or imagined presence of other people or by social norms. Social psychologists typically explain human behavior as a result of the r ...
,
Jürgen Habermas' communicative ethics, and
Donald Winnicott
Donald Woods Winnicott (7 April 1896 – 25 January 1971) was an English paediatrician and psychoanalyst who was especially influential in the field of object relations theory and developmental psychology. He was a leading member of the Briti ...
's
object relations theory. Honneth's critical adaptation of these is the basis of his critical social theory, which attempts to remedy the deficits of previous approaches. In 2003, Honneth co-authored ''Recognition or Redistribution?'' with the
feminist philosopher
Feminist philosophy is an approach to philosophy from a feminist perspective and also the employment of philosophical methods to feminist topics and questions. Feminist philosophy involves both reinterpreting philosophical texts and methods in ...
Nancy Fraser
Nancy Fraser (; born May 20, 1947) is an American philosopher, critical theorist, feminist, and the Henry A. and Louise Loeb Professor of Political and Social Science and professor of philosophy at The New School in New York City.Jadžić, MiloŠ...
, 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
Western Marxism is a current of Marxist theory that arose from Western and Central Europe in the aftermath of the 1917 October Revolution in Russia and the ascent of Leninism. The term denotes a loose collection of theorists who advanced an i ...
" 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 is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for Profit (economics), profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, pric ...
as argued by
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...
and
György Lukács
György Lukács (born György Bernát Löwinger; hu, szegedi Lukács György Bernát; german: Georg Bernard Baron Lukács von Szegedin; 13 April 1885 – 4 June 1971) was a Hungarian Marxist philosopher, literary historian, critic, and ae ...
.
In ''The Idea of Socialism'', Honneth calls for a revision of socialist theory in order to make it relevant for the 21st century, based on a criticism of the socialist theory of
historical materialism
Historical materialism is the term used to describe Karl Marx's theory of history. Marx locates historical change in the rise of class societies and the way humans labor together to make their livelihoods. For Marx and his lifetime collaborat ...
, ignorance of political rights and social
differentiation in modern societies, and overemphasis on the working class as a revolutionary subject. In order to fully realize the three principles of the
French revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
, Honneth suggests three revisions: Replacing economic determinism with historical experimentation inspired by
John Dewey
John Dewey (; October 20, 1859 – June 1, 1952) was an American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer whose ideas have been influential in education and social reform. He was one of the most prominent American scholars in the f ...
, expanding social freedom – mutual dependence and cooperation among members of society – to the other spheres of modern society (i.e. the political and the private), as well as addressing all citizens of the democratic sphere.
Works translated into English
* ''Social Action and Human Nature'', co-authored with
Hans Joas
Hans Joas (; ; born November 27, 1948) is a German sociologist and social theorist.
Hans Joas is Ernst Troeltsch Professor for the Sociology of Religion at the Humboldt University of Berlin. From 2011 until 2014 he was a Permanent Fellow at th ...
(Cambridge University Press, 1988
980.
* ''The Critique of Power: Reflective Stages in a Critical Social Theory'' (MIT Press, 1991
985
Year 985 ( CMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Europe
* Summer – Henry II (the Wrangler) is restored as duke of Bavaria by Empress Theoph ...
.
* ''The Fragmented World of the Social: Essays in Social and Political Philosophy'' (SUNY Press, 1995
990.
* ''The Struggle for Recognition: The Moral Grammar of Social Conflicts'' (Polity Press, 1995
992
Year 992 ( CMXCII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Worldwide
* Winter – A superflare from the sun causes an Aurora Borealis, with visibility as fa ...
.
* ''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
000.
* ''Pathologies of Reason: On the Legacy of Critical Theory'' (2009).
* ''The Pathologies of Individual Freedom: Hegel's Social Theory'' (2010).
* ''The I in We: Studies in the Theory of Recognition'' (2012).
* ''Freedom's Right'' (2014).
* ''The Idea of Socialism'' (2016).
See also
*
Critical theory
A critical theory is any approach to social philosophy that focuses on society and culture to reveal, critique and challenge power structures. With roots in sociology and literary criticism, it argues that social problems stem more from soci ...
*
Recognition (sociology)
Recognition in sociology is the public acknowledgment of a person's Social status, status or :wikt:merit, merits (achievements, virtues, service, etc.).
In psychology, excessively seeking for recognition is regarded as one of the defining traits o ...
*
Social exclusion
Social exclusion or social marginalisation is the social disadvantage and relegation to the fringe of society. It is a term that has been used widely in Europe and was first used in France in the late 20th century. It is used across discipline ...
*
Charles Taylor (philosopher)
References
Further reading
*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, ''Empörung 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*
ttp://www.phil.uu.nl/~joel/research/publications/HonnethIntro.htm Joel Anderson's Introduction to ''The Struggle for Recognition.''Honneth in LondonAxel Honneth in conversation with Peter Dews, 2007
* Homepages of Axel Honneth at th
and th
Institute for Social Research
2007 Talks by Honneth
*
ttp://publicsphere.ssrc.org/honneth-social-criticism-in-the-age-of-the-normalized-intellectual/ "Social Criticism in the Age of the Normalized Intellectual"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.Interview with Honneth for the ''Platypus Review'' 59 (September, 2013)Publications by Axel Honneth in WorldCat
{{DEFAULTSORT:Honneth, Axel
1949 births
20th-century essayists
20th-century German male writers
20th-century German non-fiction writers
20th-century German philosophers
21st-century essayists
21st-century German male writers
21st-century German non-fiction writers
21st-century German philosophers
Columbia University faculty
Continental philosophers
Critical theorists
Frankfurt School
Free University of Berlin faculty
German ethicists
German male essayists
German male non-fiction writers
German political philosophers
German sociologists
Goethe University Frankfurt faculty
Living people
Moral philosophers
The New School faculty
Philosophers of culture
Philosophers of economics
Philosophers of ethics and morality
Philosophers of history
Philosophers of social science
Philosophy academics
Philosophy writers
Social philosophers
University of Bonn alumni
University of Konstanz faculty
Writers about activism and social change
Writers from Essen