Critical Studies in German Idealism – serie

German idealism has attempted to think an absolute ground to self-conscious I-hood. As a result it has been theologically disqualified as pantheistic or even atheistic since many maintain that such a ground cannot be reconciled with a personal God. In the early writings of Friedrich Schelling (1775-1854), it is clear that he and his contemporaries were aware of this difficulty. His Tübinger fellow student, Friedrich Hölderlin (1770-1843), was convinced of the ultimate inadequacy of any philosophical system to grasp the unitary ground of all that is and turned to poetry. The metaphysical insights expressed in his poetry have been largely neglected in both philosophical and theological scholarship. Drawing on the 20th century metaphysics of Dieter Henrich and Karl Rahner, this book elaborates on Hölderlin's poetry. This results in a novel concept of God as both unitary and personal ground of I-hood.

This work - the first full-length account of its theme in English - identifies Kant’s doctrine of inner sense as a central, and problematic, element within the ‘architectonic of pure reason’ of the first Critique. Its exegesis exposes two, variant construals of the character and capacities of inner sense: the first, ‘positive’ construal functions in Kant’s account of the nature of knowledge in the Transcendental Analytic, while the second, ‘negative’ construal functions in Kant’s account of the limits of knowledge in the Transcendental Dialectic. Green shows how this variance underlies, and destabilizes, the basic intention of Kant’s theoretical philosophy, to give an account of both the nature, and the limits, of cognition. The work complements detailed analysis with an exhaustive review of English, French, and German scholarship on the doctrine. An Appendix on Kant’s recently discovered ‘Vom inneren Sinne’ fragment evinces Kant’s continued concern with this doctrine, and a Conclusion intimates the importance of Fichte’s and Schelling’s identification of the ‘aporia of inner sense’ to the subsequent development of transcendental idealism.

The theme of “Institutions of Education: then and today” not only corresponds with the basic questions raised in German Idealism, but is also central to the question of whether it is legitimate to study German Idealism in our era. Elaborating on this project immediately raises the problem of institutional differentiation, which characterizes multicultural society. Does the variety of educational institutions not, by definition, exclude the shared conception and realization of adulthood that is presupposed by German Idealism? This book shows that German Idealism can still participate in the contemporary debate on education: it is not only helpful in raising relevant questions, but can also be transformed into positions which can deal with the pluriformity that characterizes contemporary society.

What are we talking about when we qualify something as sublime? Is it just a qualification of the beautiful in its most touching degree? Is it a qualification of something ouside there anyway? Is it a feeling or a reflecting judgment on aesthetic appreciation? And can we reduce the sublime to the aesthetic? The authors of this book all take the analysis of Kant in "Critique of the Power of Judgment" as their primary reference. The argument of this book however is to show in what way the Kantian legacy on this topic is still a main stream of inspiration for contemporary thinking, whether in line with Kant or overcoming his primary impetus for modern philosophy of freedom in a critical reception.

In his attempt to give an answer to the question of what constitutes real knowledge, Kant steers a middle course between empiricism and rationalism. True knowledge refers to a given empirical reality, but true knowledge has to be understood as necessary as well, and so consequently, must be a priori. Both demands can only be reconciled if synthetic a priori judgments are possible. To ground this possibility, Kant develops his transcendental logic.In Frege’s program of providing a logicistic basis for true knowledge the same problem is at issue: his logicist solution places the quantifier into the position of the basic element connected to the truth of a proposition. As the basic element of a theory of logic, it refers at the same time to something in reality.Mołczanow argues that Frege’s program fails because it does not pay sufficient attention to Kant’s transcendental logic. Frege interprets synthetic a priori judgments as ultimately analytic, and thus falls back onto a Leibnizian rationalism, thereby ignoring Kant’s middle course.Under the title of the transcendental analytic of quantification Mołczanow discusses Frege’s concept of quantification. For Frege, the proper analysis of number words and the categories of quantity raises problems which can only be solved, according to Mołczanow, with the help of Kant’s transcendental logic. Mołczanow’s book thus deserves its places in the series Critical Studies in German Idealism because it provides a further elaboration of Kant’s transcendental logic by bringing it into conversation with contemporary logic. The result is a new conception of the nature of quantification which speaks to our time.

Hegel’s Science of Logic is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest works of European philosophy. However, its contribution to arguably the most important philosophical problem, Pyrrhonian scepticism, has never been examined in any detail. Pyrrhonian Scepticism and Hegel's Theory of Judgement fills a great lacuna in Hegel scholarship by convincingly proving that the dialectic of the judgement in Hegel’s Science of Logic successfully refutes this kind of scepticism. Although Ioannis Trisokkas has written the book primarily for those students of philosophy who already have an interest in Hegel’s epistemology and philosophy of language and/or his Science of Logic, it will also appeal to those who investigate the problem of scepticism independently of the Hegel corpus.

In Modern Individuality in Hegel’s Practical Philosophy, Erzsébet Rózsa aims to reconstruct Hegel’s theory of individuality in the light of his idea of modernity. Modern individuality is one of the central topics of Hegel’s practical philosophy, discussed systematically in the forms of subjectivity in subjective, objective, and practical spirit. Hegel interpreted modern existence and lifeworld in the context of law, politics, economy, and private life. “Infinite subjective freedom” is the historical principle of the “modern age”, as well as the basic determination of modern individual forms of existence and knowledge. Modern form of life and mentality based on the values and practical actions of self-knowledge and self-determination is an achievement of historical significance. This radical turn, however, gives a new perspective to the problem of good life: the normative role of substantial values is overshadowed by the stabilizing function of the “objective order” of institutions.

There has been an intensive debate in recent years, particularly in political philosophy, on how the concept of recognition ( Anerkennung) can bring insight into understanding social and political relationships and answering ethical questions. Proponents of this philosophy seek to apply German Idealism, especially Hegel, to the arguments of recognition in order to solve contemporary problems. However, does the present debate incorporate sufficiently the requirements of the idealist philosophy which it pretends to inherit and update? As a new paradigm for philosophy claiming to actualize German idealist philosophy, it provokes questions about the foundation of the principle of recognition itself as well as about which philosophical method provides the best means for addressing recognition. In Recognition -- German Idealism as an Ongoing Challenge, renowned authors address this fascinating and far-reaching questions in discussion with Kant, Fichte, Schelling and Hegel.Contributors include: Robert Brandom, Paul Cobben, Simon Critchley, Pirmin Stekeler-Weithofer, Kenneth Westphal, Klaus Vieweg, Erzsébet Rósza, Christian Krijnen, Heikki Ikäheimo, Donald Loose, Kurt Walter Zeidler, Jean-Christophe Merle, Sasa Josifovic, Arthur Kok, Emiliano Acosta

In Autonome Praxis und intelligible Welt: Die transzendental-praktische Freiheit in Kants Lehre vom höchsten Gut Walid Faizzada reconstructs Kant’s theory of freedom in light of modern debates about determinism and free will. Faizzada argues that the Kantian position is neither a kind of compatibilism nor incompatibilism. The theory of freedom includes the specific concept of intellectual causality as the power to act by principles and for practical reasons. The most innovative feature constitutes the self-determination of rational agents regarding the idea of the noumenal world. Kant’s philosophical approach to freedom culminates in the concept of so-called transcendental-practical freedom which prepares the ground for morality.

Grounds of Pragmatic Realism argues that Hegel’s philosophy from the 1807 Phenomenology of Spirit through his last Berlin lectures on philosophical psychology demonstates how Kant’s critique of rational judgment across his Critical corpus can be disentangled from Kant’s failed Transcendental Idealism and developed into a cogent, pragmatic realism, within which the social and historical aspects of rational inquiry and justification are shown to justify realism about the objects of empirical knowledge. Hegel’s demonstration reveals how deeply contemporary epistemology remains beholden to pre-Critical options, none of which are adequate to the natural sciences, nor to commonsense. Hegel recognised and justified (independently) Kant’s semantics of singular cognitive reference to particulars within space and time. Hegel’s analysis of mutual recognition develops Kant’s insights into the self-critical and inter-subjective aspects of rational judgment and justification, to show that none of us can be properly rational judges, nor can we properly justify our judgments rationally, without constructive self-criticism and without acknowledging and benefitting from constructive critical assessment by others.

Dieser akribische Kommentar zu den ersten fünf Kapiteln der Phänomenologie des Geistes wird Absatz für Absatz durchgeführt und analysiert den logischen Aufbau dieses Werkes. Es wird herausgearbeitet, wie diese logische Struktur in der (kleinen) Logik der Enzyklopädie der philosophischen Wissenschaften explizit gemacht wird. Dies eröffnet in besonderer Weise den Zugang zu zwei zentralen Werken Hegels. Zunächst wird deutlich, inwiefern die Phänomenologie des Geistes ein Schlüssel ist, um Zugang zur Logik der Enzyklopädie zu erhalten. Umgekehrt hilft diese Logik aber auch, die Struktur der Phänomenologie des Geistes besser zu verstehen.In a meticulous commentary on the first five chapters of the Phenomenology of Spirit, which is carried out paragraph by paragraph, the logical structure of this work is analyzed. The book elaborates how this logical structure is made explicit in the (shorter) logic of the Enzyklopädie der philosophischen Wissenschaften. This opens up access to two of Hegel's central works in a special way. First of all, it becomes clear in what way the Phenomenology of Spirit is a key to gaining access to the logic of the Enzyklopädie. But conversely, this logic also helps to gain a better understanding of the structure of the Phenomenology of Spirit.

Was ist Wirklichkeit? Diese Frage wird unter Bezug auf den dritten Abschnitt Die Wirklichkeit der Wesenslogik von G.W.F. Hegel thematisiert. Hegels Methode des reinen Denkens wird bis zu der absoluten Substanz nachgezeichnet, die sich als bestimmtes Sein (to ti en einai), Zugrundeliegendes (hypokeimenon) und für-sich-Stehendes (choriston) selbstoffenbart. Die metaphysischen Strukturen des Textes werden dabei fortlaufend mit aristotelischen Substanzstrukturen verglichen. Zugleich wird die Kongruenz zu aristotelischen Substanzprinzipien an zentralen Begriffen herausgestellt. Hegels reines Denken wird als Neubelebung einer von Aristoteles geprägten Theorie der reinen Wirksamkeit (energeia) ausgewiesen.What is reality? This question is explored with reference to the third section, Reality, of G.W.F. Hegel’s Science of Logic. Hegel's method of pure thought is traced through to the concept of absolute substance, which reveals itself as determinate being (to ti en einai), underlying substrate (hypokeimenon), and self-standing entity (choriston). The metaphysical structures of Hegel's text are continually compared with Aristotelian structures of substance, while key concepts highlight the alignment with Aristotelian principles of substance. Hegel's notion of pure thought is identified as a revival of Aristotle's theory of pure actuality (energeia).

Hegel's Encyclopedia (“Lesser”) Logic and its Additions represent his definitive work (1830) on fundamental ontology, whose goal is to deduce purposive nature, the subject of the subsequent book in Hegel’s system, the Philosophy of Nature. While commentators have snubbed the “Lesser” Logic in favor of its “Greater” sibling, the Encyclopedia Logic’s posthumous, student-note Additions invite us into Hegel’s notoriously challenging metaphysical thought, offering lively references to his world and times. Further, in the Additions, we hear the thinker himself and feel the strength of his belief that even the most speculative philosophy is meant to be taught, understood and enjoyed.

In this book, you will discover the deep connection between the concepts of assimilation and consumption in Hegel’s philosophy. Tracing their development across Hegel’s system—from the Logic and Philosophy of Nature to the Phenomenology of Spirit and Philosophy of Right—the book shows that consumption is a fully actualized form of assimilation. It argues that consumption is not merely a social practice, but is rooted in ontological and normative structures, revealing consumption as a way of culturally assimilating nature and shaping modern ethical life.

Anhand des Konzepts der zweiten Natur bietet dieses Buch eine hegelsche Version des dialektischen Naturalismus, indem es die Zweideutigkeit der zweiten Natur in einem wesentlichen Zusammenhang mit der Frage nach der Verwirklichung der Freiheit oder der Freiheit als Verwirklichung analysiert. Es wird gezeigt, dass Freiheit sich ausschließlich in Form der zweiten Natur verwirklichen lässt. Gerade diese Notwendigkeit der zweiten Natur bei der Verwirklichung der Freiheit macht diese jedoch zugleich prekär. Die Zweideutigkeit begründet das notwendige Umschlagen von Freiheit in Unfreiheit. Aus Hegels dialektischem Naturalismus wird die Idee der versittlichten Teleologie herausgearbeitet, die es erlaubt, jenes Umschlagen freiheitlich umzudeuten.This book presents a Hegelian version of dialectical naturalism through the concept of second nature, analysing its ambiguity in relation to the question of freedom’s realisation—or freedom as realisation. It demonstrates that freedom can only be realised through the form of second nature. Precisely this necessity of second nature for the realisation of freedom renders it precarious. The ambiguity underpins the inevitable transition from freedom to unfreedom. From Hegel’s dialectical naturalism, the concept of sittlich teleology is derived, which is capable of reinterpreting this transition in a liberating manner.

The alienation generated in modern capitalist societies has a corrosive effect on social cohesion and democratic deliberation. This thesis stresses the importance of citizenship education in combating alienation in order to achieve a democratic and just society. Insights provided by Critical Theory suggest that education promoting social democratic citizenship may overcome social alienation if it is practiced as Bildung in a comprehensive sense and administered with the right dose of political economic alienation. To develop this argument, the thesis considers both classical and contemporary conceptions of alienation in detail and includes in-depth discussions of Hegel, Marx, Marcuse, and Habermas.