Recognition, Democracy, and Work: Honneth’s Radical Promise for Transformative Learning

Abstract

This paper argues for a recognition turn in transformative learning (TL) through an engagement with Axel Honneth’s recent work on social freedom, emancipation, democracy and labor. It reconstructs TL as more than an individual and predominantly cognitive process involving critical reflection. It presents TL as a socially situated form of emancipatory learning that emerges from shared experiences of misrecognition, indignation, and collective struggles. Honneth’s contribution to establishing a distinct emancipatory interest allows TL to be reconstructed as a collaborative reinterpretation of naturalized norms and institutions. His analysis of work demonstrates how recognition, democratic participation, and social freedom are interconnected, while unfair and alienating work practices hinder the development of identity, learning and democracy. The paper mentions resulting pedagogical possibilities for adult educators that emphasize narratives, solidarities, mutual recognition and democratic participation, without obscuring the role of critical reflection. The paper concludes that TL can achieve its radical promise and potential when personal transformation and critical reflection are reconnected to collective action, institutional change, labor reform and social freedom.