Rousseau, Recognition and Self-Love

摘要

Recognition is an important human need. We all value and demand the respect of others and feel hurt when that respect is denied us. The frustration of this need can, as history testifies, lead to intense social struggle and conflict. It can also have psychologically damaging consequences. Philosophical theories of recognition seek to explore the nature and philosophical significance of the human need for recognition and to articulate the social and political conditions under which that need can be universally satisfied. In exploring the nature and philosophical significance of recognition, these theories often claim that recognition is partially constitutive of selfhood. That is, these theories claim that what I am is, in part, constituted by others' recognition of me.