This article presents a sketch of the debate between Axel Honneth and Nancy Fraser over the notion of recognition, seeking specifically to understand some of the aspects that run through the Habermasian project of critical theory. If at a first glimpse, Honneth's proposal (a theory of justice based on the notion of self-fulfillment) and that of Fraser (based on the principle of parity of participation) appear to be unreconcilable, some common elements can be identified when we keep the background in which these theories operate in mind. We believe that the possible production of a model of recognition that is capable of combining Fraser's and Honneth's proposals depends upon making explicit some of the Habermasian premises that remain implicit within the perspectives we are analyzing here. This article sketches out comparisons and approximations between the three authors with particular regard to three aspects: the importance of ordinary interaction, the material dimension of social struggles and the relationships between law and morality.
recognition; critical theory; Honneth; Fraser; Habermas