Butler points out that Honneth's fundamental ontology, or his attempt, à la Lukács and Heidegger, to locate some aboriginal fault in human existence, can give no guide to moral assessment of behavior, for recognition, as Honneth understands it, is compatible with treating people with hate and contempt as well as with love and care. [...] an argument that uses the term "forgetfulness of recognition" runs the danger of committing the fallacy of equivocation.

Mass murders