To cognize is to think. To recognize is to think twice, or so I would suppose, without confirming the etymology.
To think is to create or acknowledge a pattern. To re-think, is really to see that pattern again.
I recognize him. To do that, I must have seen him before.
How much of our perception is original, and how much recognition? If the world is constantly in flux, what is the proper role of recognition? It is difficult to imagine a world in which every pattern had to be created anew. It is equally difficult to imagine an interesting world which consisted ONLY recognition.