For such a decisive figure in philosophy and culture more generally, the reception of Hegel's thought is too often reduced to little more than a caricature. This course will seek to counter this with a detailed exploration of a range of his work. We will aim to assess their original message and contemporary relevance and seek to work through the stakes of any attempt to finally move beyond or past the ideas of one of the true giants of philosophy.
The
course will aim to provide an overview of Hegel's staggeringly ambitious
project, while also paying close critical attention to the way in which this is
overall project is advanced in particular texts. Rather than focus exhaustively
on one particular text, we will look to range across his writings, but areas
for particular focus will be the Phenomenology of Spirit, selections from the
Science of Logic as well as some areas of the Philosophy of Right and the
Philosophy of History. The aim is to see how Hegel's social and historical writings
are not only often grotesquely caricatured in much of the reception of his
work, but also the way in which they are also informed by his distinctive
approach to metaphysics and ontology. There is no doubt that Hegel can often be
very difficult to read, and we will aim to strike a balance between getting use
to the peculiar rigours of his text and looking to put these texts into the
broader context which makes them such exciting and, still, original exercises
in philosophical thinking. By the
end of the course, you should be able to: - Explain
a range of key concepts in Hegel's work (e.g. negation, sublation, dialectic,
geist, being-in-itself, being for itself, in its own truth, etc)
- Explain and evaluate debates as to how Hegel's conception of the Absolute
should be understood
- Assess the significance of dialectical thinking for philosophy and other
areas of discourse
- Teacher: Dan Taylor