Open Access11. Pathologies of Collective Recognition
Author(s) -
Onni Hirvonen
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
studies in social and political thought/studies in social and political thought
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2398-3884
pISSN - 1467-2219
DOI - 10.20919/sspt.25.2015.35
Subject(s) - normative , function (biology) , cognitive science , epistemology , psychology , biology , philosophy , evolutionary biology
This paper maps the theoretical possibilities of what pathologies of collective recognition might be. It argues that collectives have a twofold role in recognition: they can function either as normative frameworks that enable recognition, or as agents of recognition. From this it follows that pathologies of collective recognition can be either systemic or agential. Furthermore, accepting the agential role of collectives opens possibilities for specific forms of pathologies. The paper concludes with remarks on the ontological commitments that need to be made if one wants to understand pathologies of recognition as including collective agents.