Arbeit und Anerkennung
Anmerkungen zu einem grundlegenden Verhältnis
13 December 2010, 7.30pm
Frankfurter Rundschau / Depot Sachsenhausen / Karl-Gerold-Platz 1 / Frankfurt am Main
What does occupational justice involve? In his theory of recognition, Axel Honneth develops a differentiated conception of good or successful identity-formation. Fundamental to his approach are the three dimensions of social recognition, namely love, legal equality and social esteem, which are crucial for a good life. The social basic structure can be examined as to whether it makes a good life possible for its members or whether it is fundamentally deficient with regard to recognition. In the special case of work relations, deficiencies in recognition could be the result of the low social esteem attached to certain occupations, such as geriatric care, housework or the service sector. In modern times, however, social esteem as a form of recognition is no longer guaranteed, according to Honneth. He traces this back to the fact that professional fields are not organised into solidarity-based groups which have agreed upon shared, honourable values, and he asks: ‘How would the category of social labour have to be integrated into the framework of a social theory in order to give rise to a not just utopian prospect of qualitative improvements?’
The speaker
Axel Honneth is Professor of Social Philosophy and Executive Director of the Institute of Social Research.
Moderator: Dr. Christian Schlüter (FR)