Over the last decade, Axel Honneth has established himself as oneof the leading social and political philosophers in the worldtoday. Rooted in the tradition of critical theory, his writingshave been central to the revitalization of critical theory and havebecome increasingly influential. His theory of recognition hasgained worldwide attention and is seen by some as the principalcounterpart to Habermass theory of discourse ethics.In this important new volume, Honneth pursues his path-breakingwork on recognition by exploring the moral experiences ofdisrespect that underpin the conduct of social and politicalcritique. What we might conceive of as a striving for socialrecognition initially appears in a negative form as the experienceof humiliation or disrespect. Honneth argues that disrespectconstitutes the systematic key to a comprehensive theory ofrecognition that seeks to clarify the sense in whichinstitutionalized patterns of social recognition generate justifieddemands on the way subjects treat each other.This new book by one of the leading social and politicalphilosophers of our time will be of particular interest to studentsand scholars in social and political theory and philosophy.
