In response to an impasse, articulated in the late 1980s, the cognitive capacities of ordinary people assumed central place in contemporary critical social theory. The participants’ perspective gained precedence over scientific standards branded as external. The notion of cognition, however, went unchallenged. This article continues the move away from external standards, and discusses two models of critique, which differ based on their underlying notions of cognition. The representational model builds on cognitive content, misrecognition and normativity; three features which are illustrated with positions adopted by prominent exponents of critical social theory. An alternative understanding relies on action-oriented disclosure and the participants’ basic familiarity with the social world. On this reading, what clashes with unequal structures is skilful coping, rather than representations and normative standards. The action-oriented approach may overcome the dilemma of understanding both the impact and the possible transcendence of unequal structures, although it cannot ultimately replace representational critique.

为了应对1980年代后期出现的僵局，普通人的认知能力在当代批判社会理论中占据了中心地位。参与者的观点优先于烙印为外部的科学标准。然而，认知的概念却没有受到挑战。本文继续远离外部标准，并讨论了两种批判模型，它们基于其基本的认知概念而有所不同。表征模型建立在认知内容，误识别和规范性之上；批判社会理论的主要代表所采用的立场说明了这三个特征。另一种理解依赖于面向行动的公开以及参与者对社交世界的基本熟悉。在此阅读中，与不平等结构冲突的是熟练的应对方法，而不是表象和规范性标准。面向行动的方法可以克服理解不平等结构的影响和可能超越的困境，尽管它最终不能代替代表性的批评。