Sartre on the Ambiguity of Recognition

This paper proposes a reconstruction of Sartre’s ontology of interpersonal relations organized around the concept of recognition. It begins with Honneth’s critique of Sartre, taking it as an opportunity to clarify the distinctive character of Sartre’s ontological approach to recognition. Central to this approach is the idea that a tension exists between intersubjective intimacy and existential separation, which Sartre regards as constitutive of the self-other relation. His analysis of this tension hinges on the concept of original recognition, as embodied in our affective response to the look of the Other. This recognition, however, is inherently ambiguous. While attesting to an original generosity of our interpersonal relations, it is also the source of potential conflict – a conflict that need not be perpetual but can be constructively overcome.