The concept of recognition and the problem of freedom

This chapter, “The concept of recognition and the problem of freedom,” reconstructs the concept of recognition by tracing its dialectical development in Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit. The chapter offers a reading of the dialectic in which the central animating problem is the nature of freedom: how can a subject affirm its independence in the midst of other subjects; can it do so alone without taking account of anyone outside of it, or is dependence on the recognition of others a condition of its freedom? In addressing this question, the chapter contrasts Kant’s and Hegel’s views on autonomy and freedom. It explores various interpretations of Hegel’s idealism in the course of seeking an account of the concept of recognition that can be acceptable for us today. It argues that recognition is a concept that we ought to employ in thinking about freedom and social relations.