Recognition, Identity

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy confirms that so-called “identity politics” has penetrated into contemporary philosophical discussions of recognition more than I had realized. It seems to me anything aimed at recognition of preconceived, contentful identities of existing selves has far less emancipatory potential than the generic Kantian respect for rational animals and open-ended, deconstructive Socratic question and answer that is at the core of what I call mutual recognition. (See also Trust as a Principle; Scorekeeping; Habermasian Recognition.)