Axel Honneth and the critical theory of recognition

edited byVolker Schmitz

The critical theory of the Frankfurt School has undergone numerous and at times fundamental changes over the last ninety years. Since the late 1960s, it has been characterized primarily by Jürgen Habermas's "communicative turn" and a focus on normative foundations. Today, that 'second generation" exists side-by-side with a "third generation" represented most prominently by Axel Honneth's turn toward recognition, ethical life, and the normative reconstruction of social institutions.