ABSTRACT
The main aim of this introductory chapter is to demonstrate the potential of the category of recognition and its usefulness for contemporary humanities and social sciences. The editors briefly discuss the basic meanings of recognition in connection with related concepts such as status, identity, prestige, respect and esteem. They also outline Axel Honneth’s theory, which is the dominant theoretical approach to recognition, and the standpoints of its main critics. However, they do not argue for one particular theory of recognition but for the use of the concept in the broad sense to highlight social and cultural phenomena. Thus, the second part of the introduction provides an overview of the following chapters, in which recognition has been placed in philosophical, sociological, literary and historical contexts. In conclusion, the editors claim that the notion of recognition has proved to be relevant for the analysis of emancipatory processes in both egalitarian and non-egalitarian societies.
