Hegel, Heidegger, and the Quest for the “I”

Paolo Diego Bubbio is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Turin, Italy and Honorary Associate Professor at Western Sydney University, Australia. He is the author of Sacrifice in the Post-Kantian Tradition (2014), God and the Self in Hegel (2017), and Intellectual Sacrifice and Other Mimetic Paradoxes (2018).

"In this well-researched, well-argued study, Bubbio addresses an exceedingly important but frequently neglected topic in continental philosophy: the relation between the Hegelian and Heideggerian attempts to conceive of the "the I" or "the self" in a way that escapes the problematic dichotomizing of objectivity and subjectivity, nature and history, truth and freedom. Bubbio’s contribution is not only erudite and historically informed, but also philosophically original and insightful. Bubbio shows how we might better appreciate Hegel and Heidegger on their own terms, and also learn from their similarities and differences, in order to gain resources for developing our own non-dichotomizing account of the self, nature, freedom, history and experience."Michael Baur, Fordham University, USA"Marked by careful scholarship, clarity of style, and a rigorous philosophical imagination, Bubbio takes up the riddle that each of us lives as a constant question: the enigma of the self. He addresses this question through innovative readings of Hegel and Heidegger that open up a new paradigm for understanding the I. An original contribution."Dennis Schmidt, Western Sydney University, Australia“An important addition to the literature on Hegel and Heidegger, Bubbio’s book is a stimulating and insightful exploration of a topic that has received relatively little direct philosophical attention. Going beyond mere exegesis or comparative critique, it constitutes a significant and original contribution to contemporary thought.” Jeff Malpas, University of Tasmania, Australia“Despite recent scientific approaches to the mind, genuine answers to the question “who am I?” remain elusive. Building on transformations of Kantian ideas by Hegel and Heidegger, Paolo Diego Bubbio points towards a satisfying answer that evades the opposition of “subjective” to “objective” that has hitherto stymied thought.”Paul Redding, Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, The University of Sydney

• Introduction Part 1: Hegel 1. From the “I” to Geist 2. Nature and Experience 3. The “I”, Second Nature, and World History Part 2: Heidegger 4. From the “I” to the Self: The Interpretation of Experience 5. The Self and Nature 6. Subjectivity and Normativity Part 3: The Quest for the “I” 7. Hegel and Heidegger: Undeveloped Pathways 8. Myth and Experience 9. Prolegomena: Perspectival “I-hood”