Romantic Recognition: A theoretical revision of love in Axel Honneth's "The Struggle for Recognition"

Abstract

In Axel Honneth's "The Struggle for Recognition" (1995), love as mutual recognition is dealt with
through the psychoanalytic theory of Donald Winnicott, who focused principally on relations between
parents and their young children. Consequently, Honneth's conceptualisation of love is ill-suited for
application in the study of late modern adult romantic relationships. In this thesis, I argue that this is
problematic for a normative theory of recognition, and I therefore propose a new conceptualisation
of love which is better suited for the critical analysis of romantic recognition in a late modern culture
of love. After presenting Honneth’s theory in full and foregrounding a few of the main issues of his
conceptualisation of love, I argue that the ideals of self-realisation and autonomy are central
challenges in the contemporary culture of love, as they fundamentally alter our ideas and thoughts of
dependence. I explore the three stages of the development of recognition as love – symbiosis,
struggle, and finally love – as they are experienced in adulthood, with a particular focus on how the
struggle might be intensified by the presence of the above-mentioned ideals. Finally, I develop a new
conceptualisation of love which is compatible with the remaining parts of Honneth’s theory, but which
places a greater emphasis on the importance of human interdependence as well as the possibility and
consequences of a denial of love in adulthood.

Popular Abstract

In both classic and contemporary recognition theory, love is assumed to be the most fundamental
relationship of mutual recognition. In a loving relationship, the individual learns to see themselves as
an independent human being capable of acting, and simultaneously dependent on the other. For the
individual to function successfully in a community, these opposite poles of independence and
dependence must be balanced. In what is arguably the most famous work of contemporary recognition
theory, The Struggle for Recognition" (1995), Axel Honneth, with the help of Donald Winnicott,
considers this to be a task of early infanthood. Once the infant has successfully developed a loving
relationship with a primary caregiver, often a parent, they should be able to develop loving romantic
relationships of their own.
In this thesis, I challenge this idea, arguing that love for and from a romantic partner in adulthood is
equally important for the maintenance of one’s self-confidence. As such, the experience of love in
early childhood is not enough – love must be experienced throughout one’s entire life. Honneth’s
theory, however, does not provide the tools to explore what challenges might be experienced in
relation to finding a romantic partner in adulthood in late modernity. Therefore, based on how other
social scientists have characterised late modern or contemporary dating culture, I propose a new
description of love as a relationship of mutual romantic recognition, which is able to take these new
challenges into account. I argue that the most central of these challenges are related to the ideals of
self-realisation and autonomy, which both imply a negative view on dependence – an otherwise key
aspect of love. Furthermore, these challenges emphasise that developing a healthy loving relationship
can be problematic, and that long periods without love is a reality for many.
In my revised conceptualisation of love, I therefore focus on how we might understand the balance
between independence and dependence, and consequently deal more critically with the ideals of self-
realisation and autonomy. I argue that love requires commitment to one’s partner’s, to oneself, and to
the union. Furthermore, I argue that a denial of love is equally as threatening to one’s self-confidence
as other forms of misrecognition and disrespect, and that, in the last instance, it poses a great challenge
to the establishment of a just and ethical society.

• author: Stouby Andersen, Amalie
• supervisor: Sandra Jönsson
• organization: Sociology
• course: SOCM05 20251
• year: 2025
• type: H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
• subject: Social Sciences
• keywords: Love, recognition, The Struggle for Recognition, Axel Honneth, romantic relationships, late modernity, commitment
• language: English
• id: 9203158
• date added to LUP: 2025-06-19 14:13:12
• date last changed: 2025-06-19 14:13:12