Abstract

This article aims to analyze how Axel Honneth’s Theory of Recognition contributes to a reflection on democracy in contemporary societies, especially in its social aspect, not restricted to an institutional political dimension. Firstly, the idea of recognition is presented, having as main focus the work Kampf um Anerkennung, from 1992, in which Honneth conducts his understanding and updating of the central issues of recognition. Then, it deals with the forms of freedom and their pathologies that directly affect social recognition. Finally, the explanation of a normative idea of democratic ethics is explained, evidencing this perspective from the paradigm of recognition based on the influence of Hegel’s thought, highlighting the idea of intersubjectivity as a fundamental aspect for democracy.