Pathologies of recognition: An introduction

Abstract

For generations, critical social theorists have turned to the framing of 'pathology' to provide a theoretical infrastructure for their critique. Such an approach famously undergirds much of the Frankfurt School's canonical work. Axel Honneth, current chair of the Institute of Social Research, continues this tradition. While Frankfurt School approaches have largely tied pathology diagnosis to a critique of historically mediated reason, a plurality of alternate conceptions exist. With the ascendancy of an intersubjective approach to critical social theory, the pathologies of the social have increasingly been comprehended as 'pathologies of recognition'. Advocates of such a framing point to the ease of establishing an immanent basis to their critique, and of the empirical evidence supporting the need for recognition. Yet, today's academy is increasingly spilt between those who embrace a 'pathologies of recognition' framework, and those who consider the development a 'domestication' of the Critical Theoretical tradition. This special issue brings together contributors from both sides of this divide. While the optimal framing of social pathology remains contested, the contributors to this collection are committed to furthering forms of social critique which transcend the limited liberal framings of injustice and illegitimacy.

Redistributive Solidarity? Exploring the Utopian Potential of Unconditional Basic Income

“…To prepare the ground for this conceptual discussion, we revisit the fundamental debate on redistribution/recognition as the foundational principle(s) of solidarity (see Butler, 1998;Fraser, 1995Fraser, , 2000Fraser and Honneth, 2003;Harris, 2019;Young, 1997). Here, we follow Nancy Fraser in suggesting that the two are mutually irreducible, but focus on the potential of redistribution to spur solidarity.…”