Justice through Recognition

In the current times, it is the political debate and the philosophy of politics that reveals how relevant the theme of recognition is, and in what manner the progress and wellbeing of human beings, who are part of different groups and communities, depend upon it. The psychology of recognition underlines how complex and deep the process of recognition is. It constantly involves an articulated dialectics which Ricoeur demonstrated to have a direct link with personal emancipation. The sociologicalspeculative research on recognition reveals how central the intersubjective dynamism of communication and action is in the public sphere, both for the process of selfemancipation and for the emancipation of a given society. The dialectics between justice and recognition cannot “simply” be reduced to the critical analysis of the double movement of ‘justice through recognition’ and ‘recognition through justice’, nor to a question of public agreement or legal formalisation and determination. In the end, it is through the challenges referred to and developed between self-emancipation and intersubjective action that the future of our civilisation will be at stake. There will not be social emancipation, social justice, and social (mutual) recognition without the personal engagement of citizens, and without emancipation of them.