Introduction: The Problem of a Philosophical Rendering of Nature and Hegel’s Philosophy of the Real

Abstract

-The monograph begins with an historical introduction to the problem of nature in German idealism. Subsequently, the chapter outlines the holistic quality of Hegel’s thought, and the importance he repeatedly assigns to nature within his own system. It argues that if Hegel’s system is to be taken seriously then it must be reconsidered it in terms of that which contemporary scholarship has excluded, i.e. his conception of nature. The wager is that such a move allows for a critically (re-)reading of Hegel against Hegel, offering an entirely different understanding of his late philosophy. Consequently, the book proposes to (1) generate a careful reconstruction of Hegel’s conception of nature in order to (2) critically explore what such a conception of nature must mean when considered in relation to what he advances concerning the constitution of subjectivity and social freedom. This proposal establishes the coordinates for the remainder of the monograph. The introduction functions as a break with traditional Hegel scholarship that begins with his logic (an onto-logic) and then reads the remainder of his final system in terms of the abstract dictates of ‘the concept.’ This project fundamentally concerns Hegel’s Philosophy of the Real (Realphilosophie), the actuality of nature and culture.