Abstract: The subject of this research is such aspect of social philosophy as the philosophy of recognition. Over the two recent decades, a growing number of the philosophers and political scientists started considering the recognition of personality a promising basis for participation in the moral criticism of social life. Nancy Fraser utters strong doubts regarding the critical potential of the personality recognition theories due to the fact that they encourage the simplification of personal identity to cultural identity. The article attempts to demonstrate the drastic distinction between Nancy Fraser’s philosophy and philosophy of other representatives of the problematic of recognition. The study applies the hermeneutic methodology; problem-thematic analysis and interpretation of material; structural-functional, historical, and comparative-historical methods. The main conclusion of the conducted research consists in the relevance of problematic set by Nancy Fraser. Unfortunately, the modern Russian philosophical thought does not give proper attention to the problem of recognition, although in the West, such problematic is quite popular and one of the most discussed.

Abstract: The highly rational and abstract reasoning of Habermas related to the formation of democratic will along with the rules on involvement into such reasoning, affected the theory of transformative learning. Communicative activity, as well as critical self-reflection requires energy. Conditions that allow to reason are the abilities towards the adult education, for example the development of critical self-reflection on the same level as the ability to take part in the “critical dialectic reasoning, which includes the assessment of assumptions and expectations and supports faith, values, and feelings” [1, p. 60]. These difficulties, at least partially, lead to a different understanding of the transformative learning, as in the works of Boyd and Meyer [2], as well as of Taylor [3]. From the very beginning, Mezirow [4] closely united the transformative learning with the project of critical theory and formation of democratic will described by Habermas. Jefferson, Marks and others noted that democratic participation is an important mean for self-improvement and produces individuals who are most tolerant to changes, sensitive to reciprocity, mora capable of moral reasoning and more adjusted to self-reflection [1, p. 60]. The theory of transformative learning is being criticized based on the absence of the fundamental proper understanding of social dimension in education [6]; thus it encourages further explanation and advancement of this theory [1].