Quelques prémisses pour une théorie de l’estime sociale

Abstract

This article provides a discussion of the premises of a theory of social esteem. Revisiting the history of classical philosophy, it shows that the quest for social esteem aims to fulfill psychic needs and interests. It then emphasizes the way the content of those interests depends on the identity of the agents, as shown in the observable correlation between the change in the (emotional, cognitive and social) components of agent’s identity and the change in their interests. Social esteem rewarding the components of an agent’s identity refers to his whole identity: this agent thus feels a strong interest for his identity defined in such a way. I also wonder how the distribution of social esteem depends on a normative perspective. The text thus provides a critical analysis of Axel Honneth’s theory which exemplifies such a theoretical option. Finally, I delineate the main axes of a research program aiming at developing the theory of social esteem.

Keywords

• social esteem
• recognition
• identity
• interest
• status
• interactionism