Dialectical Reason and Necessary Conflict”Understanding and the Nature of Terror

Taking as point of departure Hegelrsquo;s early reflections on his historical present, this essay examines the relationship between dialectical reason and the activity of the understanding in generating contradiction. Dialecticmdash;as logic and methodmdash;is Hegelrsquo;s attempt at a philosophical comprehension of the conflicts and the deep changes of his contemporary world. This idea of dialectic as logic of historical transformation guides the development of consciousness in the emPhenomenology of Spirit/em. Since my claim is that the dialectic of consciousness and its capacity of overcoming contradiction are rooted in the historical situation of 1807, the question is raised of what would be the specific problems encountered by consciousness in our contemporary worldmdash;in 2007. What are the challenges posed by our globalized world to a phenomenology of contemporary spirit; and what is the role that contradiction and dialectic play in the understanding of our own historical present

Libertad y contradicción en el mundo ético

In this paper it will be discussed the status of Hegel’s theory of objektiver Geist and his idea of freedom taking up a variant of the confrontation between Kant and Hegel. By showing that contradiction in morality cannot be avoided, Hegel decentralizes the role that strictly moral concerns (should) have in our practical life thereby complicating and extending the realm of what counts as free action. Thus, it must be clear that the strength of the doctrine of objektiver Geist and of the notion of freedom developed therein consists in leading “outside” morality understood in the Kantian way, in showing precisely what it is that lies “outside” morality. En este trabajo se discutirá el estatus de la teoría de Hegel del “espíritu objetivo” y su idea de libertad retomando una variante de la confrontación entre Kant y Hegel. Mostrando que la contradicción en la moral no puede ser evitada, Hegel descentraliza el rol que las cuestiones estrictamente morales suelen (o deberían) tener en nuestra vida práctica, y así complejiza y extiende la esfera de lo que cuenta como una acción libre. De esta forma, debe quedar claro que la fuerza de la doctrina del “espíritu objetivo” y de la noción de libertad desarrollada en ella consiste en dirigirse más allá de la moral entendida a la manera kantiana, mostrando precisamente qué es lo que se encuentra por “afuera” de la moral.

Libertad y contradicción en el mundo ético

In this paper it will be discussed the status of Hegel’s theory of objektiver Geist and his idea of freedom taking up a variant of the confrontation between Kant and Hegel. By showing that contradiction in morality cannot be avoided, Hegel decentralizes the role that strictly moral concerns (should) have in our practical life thereby complicating and extending the realm of what counts as free action. Thus, it must be clear that the strength of the doctrine of objektiver Geist and of the notion of freedom developed therein consists in leading “outside” morality understood in the Kantian way, in showing precisely what it is that lies “outside” morality. En este trabajo se discutirá el estatus de la teoría de Hegel del “espíritu objetivo” y su idea de libertad retomando una variante de la confrontación entre Kant y Hegel. Mostrando que la contradicción en la moral no puede ser evitada, Hegel descentraliza el rol que las cuestiones estrictamente morales suelen (o deberían) tener en nuestra vida práctica, y así complejiza y extiende la esfera de lo que cuenta como una acción libre. De esta forma, debe quedar claro que la fuerza de la doctrina del “espíritu objetivo” y de la noción de libertad desarrollada en ella consiste en dirigirse más allá de la moral entendida a la manera kantiana, mostrando precisamente qué es lo que se encuentra por “afuera” de la moral.

Leopardi Beyond Spinoza: Hegel’s Logic of Essence

The essay illustrates the meaning of the Absolute that leads Hegel’s Logic of Essence to its conclusion by bringing Leopardi’s conception of Nature to the center. Hegel’s Absolute, I contend, can be best understood as the Nature that appears in Leopardi’s 1824 Dialogo della Natura e di un Islandese (Operette Morali) and in his late poem La Ginestra (1836). Hegel claims that the Absolute of the Logic of Essence “corresponds” to Spinoza’s monistic Absolute expressed as Deus sive natura. This “correspondence” and the criticism of Spinoza it entails have stirred reactions against Hegel’s alleged misunderstanding of Spinoza. Leopardi’s intervention will help us understand the core of Hegel’s position with regard to Spinoza’s substance, and will ultimately allow us to put in a novel perspective the crucial transition from necessity to freedom that this stage of the development of Essence represents