The Ethics of Recognition: Agents, Identities and Institutions

The Ethics of Recognition: Agents, Identities and Institutions

MANCEPT Workshops - September 8th -10th, 2014 (Manchester, UK).

Convenors: Cillian McBride and Paddy McQueen (Queen's University, Belfast).

Panel Description:

Recognition is becoming an increasingly important concept in political theory, fuelled in large part by the work of Axel Honneth. Central to recognition theory is the Hegelian insight that our identities are shaped by the perceptions and judgements of others, and thus acts of misrecognition and non-recognition can constitute forms of injustice. The value of recognition theory is bolstered by an increasingly common assertion that many historical and contemporary social struggles are best conceived as struggles for recognition. This has led to the belief that recognition provides an effective framework for understanding and resolving social conflicts and pathologies. However, the growing interest in recognition has fostered debates over how best to understand the concept of recognition itself, its connection to individual identity and personal development, and its relationship to justice, equality and freedom.

This panel will address these and related issues through an examination of the ethics of recognition. In particular, it addresses how the concept of recognition can help theorists explore the connections between agency, identity and institutions.

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