ABSTRACT
This introduction covers key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters in this book. This chapter outlines the kind of application to contemporary social and political philosophy that the concept of recognition, see in the context of Hegel's social philosophy and German idealism in general, might be expected to have. It also introduces the meaning of 'positive' recognition. The chapter provides a detailed account of ontology as meta-metaphysics, and discusses a conception of ontology as 'our world' that comes from the work of Rolf-Peter Horstmann. It presents argues for a monistic ontology that grounds a social ontology of meaningful intersubjectivity. It is a central claim of the interpersonal relationships work that theology is a great neglected element in current work on recognition and social ontology. The chapter makes some general remarks on, and gives some initial definitions of, reconciliation and metanoia in the place of this study, before going on to outline the general argument about their importance for positive recognition.
