Hegel’s Transcendental Ontology

183 Pages·2018·1.369 MB·English

by  Giorgi Lebanidze

Hegel’s Transcendental Ontology

Hegel’s Transcendental Ontology
Giorgi Lebanidze
LEXINGTONBOOKS
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BritishLibraryCataloguinginPublicationInformationAvailable
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Name:Lebanidze,Giorgi,1973–,author.
Title:Hegel’stranscendentalontology/GiorgiLebanidze.
Description:Lanham,MD:LexingtonBooks,2018.|Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
Identifiers:LCCN2018046744(print)|LCCN2018048341(ebook)|ISBN9781498561341(elec-
tronic)|ISBN9781498561334(cloth:alk.paper)
Subjects:LCSH:Hegel,GeorgWilhelmFriedrich,1770–1831.|Concepts.|Hegel,GeorgWilhelm
Friedrich,1770–1831.WissenschaftderLogik.
Classification:LCCB2949.C49(ebook)|LCCB2949.C49L422018(print)|DDC111—dc23
LCrecordavailableathttps://lccn.loc.gov/2018046744
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PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
Contents
ListofAbbreviations vii
Introduction ix
1 Hegel’sCritiqueofAlternativePositions 1
2 DeterminationsofReflectionandGenerationofConceptualContent 31
3 Hegel’sTheoryoftheConceptandItsKantianOrigins 53
4 TheMomentsoftheConcept 73
5 FailedFormsofSyllogisticMediation 97
6 TheSyllogismofNecessity 119
Bibliography 139
Index 145
AbouttheAuthor 151
v

List of Abbreviations
Abbreviations for frequently cited primary texts are given below; details for
lessfrequentlycitedtextsaregiveninfullinthenotes.
EL Hegel’sTheEncyclopaediaLogic.ExcerptsfromHegel’sThe
EncyclopaediaLogic:PartIoftheEncyclopaediaofthe
PhilosophicalSciencewiththeZustz,translated,withintroductionand
notes,byT.F.Geraets,W.A.Suchting,andH.S.Harris(Hackett
1991).ReprintedbypermissionofHackettPublishingCompany,Inc.
SL Hegel’sTheScienceofLogic.EditedandtranslatedbyGeorgedi
Giovanni.GeorgWilhelmFriedrichHegel:TheScienceofLogic,©
GeorgediGiovanni2010,publishedbyCambridgeUniversityPress.
Reprintedwithpermission.
vii

Introduction
The recent debate over Hegel’s philosophy is carried out along the lines of
the Kantian-epistemological vs. metaphysical interpretations of his position.
Those belonging to the first camp understand Hegel as the figure who
brought the Kantian epistemological turn in philosophy to its completion,
leaving behind the questions of traditional metaphysics regarding the ulti-
matestructureofrealitythatunderliesthemereappearanceandtruenatureof
God, soul, and the world. The general line taken by these commentators is
thatalthoughHegeldoesnotstopshortofusingtheterminologyoftradition-
al metaphysics (such as God, infinite, absolute, etc.), the philosophically
significant core of his position is independent of these archaic elements,
whichthereforecanbeliftedoutofhisoverallcorpuswithoutsustainingany
philosophicallysignificantloss.Thoughnotalwaysexplicitlyacknowledged,
these Hegel scholars stand in the long tradition of trying to rescue what is
alive in Hegel from what is dead and ought to be left behind. The essential
kernelofHegel’ssystemworthrescuing,accordingtothesecommentators,is
theKantiantranscendentalprojectbroughttoitscompletion.
Thecentralfigureamongthecommentatorswhoconsiderthecompletion
of Kantian transcendental epistemology central to Hegel’s legacy is Robert
Pippin, whose groundbreaking Hegel’s Idealism, published in 1989, set a
newstageinHegelscholarship.Inthebook,Pippinaimstodemonstratethat
the issues most important to Hegel’s project can be traced back to Kantian
criticalepistemology.UncoveringtheKantianoriginsofHegel’sphilosophy,
accordingtoPippinandhisfollowers,allowsustointerpretHegelasapost-
Kantian epistemologist whose doctrine can be set free of any substantive
ontologicalcommitments.ThisapproachinvitesustoreadHegel’stwocen-
tralworks,LogicandPhenomenology,asinvestigationswithinthenormative
authorityofthepureconceptsofunderstandingasthemeansbywhichreality
ix