Mitglied

Axel Honneth

  • Biografische Angaben

    Professor Honneth is Jack C. Weinstein Professor for the Humanities in the Department of Philosophy at Columbia University; Director of the Institute for Social Research, Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main (since 2001); and C4-Professor of Social Philosophy, Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main (since 1996). From 1992 to 1996, Professor Honneth was C4-Professor of Political Philosophy at Freie Universität Berlin; from 1991 to 1992 he was C3-Professor of Philosophy, University of Konstanz. From 1983 to 1989 he was „Hochschulassistent“ (scientific assistant) to Prof. Dr. Jürgen Habermas, Dept. of Philosophy, Goethe-Universität Frankfurt/M.; from 1982 to 1983 he had a Research Grant with Prof. Dr. Jürgen Habermas, Max-Planck-Institute for Social Sciences, Starnberg. From 1977 to 1982 he was Wissenschaftlicher Assistent (scientific assistant), Institute of Sociology, Freie Universität Berlin. Professor Honneth studied Philosophy, Sociology, and German Literature at Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn and Ruhr-Universität Bochum from 1969-1974, earning his M.A. in Philosophy in 1974. His postgraduate studes were at Freie Universität Berlin from 1974-1976. His Dissertation (thesis), at Freie Universität Berlin in 1982 was entitled „Kritik der Macht. Foucault und die Kritische Theorie“. Professor Honneth’s Habilitation (postdoctoral thesis and postdoctoral lecturing qualification) was in 1990 at the Department of Philosophy, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main, entitled „Kampf um Anerkennung“. In November 2015, Professor Honneth received the Ernst Bloch-Preis from the City of Ludwigshafen (Germany) (please see the Suhrkamp Verlag announcement). In April 2016, Professor Honneth received the Bruno-Kreisky Prize from the Karl-Renner Stiftung in Vienna. In June 2016, Professor Honneth was awarded the Ulysses Medal, University College Dublin’s highest honour, for his lifetime contribution to social philosophy and critical theory.

News from the research center

Event
19.06.2026 | Frankfurt

„Dass niemand wirklich frei ist, bevor es nicht alle sind.“

Symposium

International Symposium in Memory of Jürgen Habermas. Featuring international panels on the rise of authoritarianism and the threats to democracy as well as on the communicative turn in philosophy and sociology, followed by a keynote from by Axel Honneth.

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Event
23.06.2026 | Frankfurt am Main

AI Truth Regimes

Panel Discussion

Artificial intelligence is currently transforming the way knowledge and truth are produced and understood. With the advent of AI, people are progressively transitioning from being active subjects and producers of epistemic processes to becoming their mere objects. The of this discussion will be critical engagements towards these developments as well as opportunities for resistance. With Antonio Somaini, Júlia Nueno Guitart (Forensic Architecture) and Medico International.

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Event
23./24.06.2026 | Frankfurt am Main

The Legacy of Kant’s Political Philosophy

Workshop

A two-day workshop on Howard Williams‘ new book about Immanuel Kant‘s political philosophy.

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Event
22.06.2026 | Frankfurt am Main

Rechtsextremismus und Polizei - Erscheinungsformen, Umgangsweisen, Perspektiven

Panel Discussion

Die Diskussion knüpft an den Sammelband „Rechtsextremismus als Herausforderung für Polizei und Gesellschaft“ an, der aktuelle Perspektiven aus Wissenschaft, Praxis und Zivilgesellschaft zusammenführt.

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News
18.05.2026

Videopodcast-Reihe „Our Planet, Our Health“ gestartet

Mit „Our Planet, Our Health“ startet eine neue Videopodcast-Reihe zu Fragen globaler Gesundheitsgerechtigkeit. Die Reihe, gehostet von Dr. Romina Rekers, ist eine Initiative des Global Health Justice Postdoctoral Programme (GHJ), gefördert von der Höppschen Stiftung.

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Publication
12.05.2026 | Online article

Disinhibited Informalization: Talk Radio, Bro Podcasts and the Aesthetics of Populism

This essay by Johannes Völz is a revised and updated translation of “Enthemmte Informalisierung: Talk Radio, Bro-Podcasts und die Ästhetik des Populismus,” WestEnd: Neue Zeitschrift für Sozialforschung 22.2 (2025): 3–24. It is published here as part of the b2o Review’s “Stop the Right” dossier.

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Event
25./26.06.2026 | Frankfurt

Shifting Regimes, Changing Orders

Conference

Conference as part of WDC 2026 in collaboration with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Designtheorie und -forschung (DGTF), Kunstgewerbemuseum/Design Campus SKD and Design and Democracy

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Publication
22.04.2026 | Chapter

Körpergeschlecht und Selbstbestimmung

Britz, Gabriele (2026): "Körpergeschlecht und Selbstbestimmung". In. Mangold, Anna Katharina; Völzmann, Berit (Hrsg.): Gerechtigkeit als Thema der Rechtswissenschaft, Nomos, S. 41-48.

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