Misrecognition: Political reform or reconciliation?

Chapter 5 “Misrecognition: Political reform or reconciliation?” interrogates two possible responses to demands for recognition. It begins by outlining the harms of misrecognition and the way in which they are social harms (i.e., collectively generated). Having identified some possible harms, the chapter asks whether misrecognition should be addressed through political reforms (bringing in considerations of human flourishing and social justice) or through cultivation of interpersonal reconciliation (bringing in attitudes and practices aimed at mutual acceptance). After examining both possibilities, it concludes with an argument for a dual perspective in which both institutional responses and the attempt to seek interpersonal reconciliation are required for addressing demands for recognition. In pursuing this, the chapter engages with key arguments by Nancy Fraser, Axel Honneth, and Richard Rorty.