Hegel's Minor and Major Geographies: Space, Consciousness, and Change

Abstract

It is still largely ignored that Hegelian dialect can be of great assistance to comprehend the intricacies of the production, experience, and contestation of space. Hegelian philosophy can significantly help to enrich geographical scholarship, although Hegel-the-geographer is yet to be discovered and properly recognised. Considering the metabolism of reason, the articulation between the particular and the universal, the externalisation and supersession of objectified consciousness, and the function of otherness in the production of space, among other insights of great socio-spatial relevance, this article offers a comparative analysis between Hegel's minor geography (the more explicit and immediate considerations of space, spatial dimensions, and geometry) and the more substantial, major geography, which is immanent in the main body of his philosophical system. The most remarkable geographical accomplishments of Hegel are possibly the detailed investigation into the pursuit of higher reason through practical, collective action and the convergence of various shapes of consciousness that constitutes the politico-spatial absolute.