"Das Bekannte ueberhaupt ist darum, weil es bekannt ist, nicht erkannt."
Seminar: An Introduction to Hegel. Hegel has a remarkable reputation as difficult, provocative, controversial, and influential. All of those are true and suggest one more characteristic: he is an exciting thinker to spend time with. This course will be an introduction to Hegel, and as an introduction it will try to accomplish three tasks: a) give students a sample of the range and character of Hegel’s philosophy; b) equip students to read and appreciate Hegel’s own peculiar way of explaining; and c) acquaint students with some of the most significant, influential, and still fruitful portions of Hegelian philosophy. To accomplish these goals, we will read selections from Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit, Philosophy of Right, and Encyclopedia. In addition, to help us understand and see his contemporary influence we will read some articles by Robert Brandom and John McDowell who see Hegel in terms of modern pragmatist or analytic philosophy of mind and language. We will also consult the writings of two leading contemporary exponents of the “non-metaphysical” reading of Hegel, Robert Pippin’s cultural reading of Hegel and Terry Pinkard’s political reading of Hegel. We will also take a look at the famous neo-Marxist reading of Hegel by Alexander Kojève, a reading that shaped French thought (Sartre, Lacan and Foucault). Hegel’s “difficulty” is only that he asks us to think and rethink what is familiar. His philosophy does not lead us to some mysterious hyper-reality of the Absolute governing the confusion of this world of appearances (he is not that kind of idealist), rather he pushes us to look once, twice, and once again at what is obvious and familiar and to “see it steadily and to see it whole.” Assignments June 28-July 1 Required: Phenomenology “Introduction”; Encyclopedia I “Introduction (§§1-25). Recommended: Kant, “What is Enlightenment?”; Brandom, “Some Pragmatis Themes in Hegel’s Idealism." July 5-July 6 (July 8 class canceled.). Required: Encyclopedia III “Phenomenology” (§§413-439). Recommended: Phenomenology Chapters I-III; Pinkard, “Hegel Finds His Voice: The Phenomenology of Spirit”; P. Butchvarov, “The Limits of Analysis.” July 12-July 15 Required: Phenomenology Chapter IVA “Self-sufficiency and non-self-sufficiency of consciousness: mastery and servitude”(§178-196)*; Kojève, “In Place of an Introduction”; Chapter IVB “Freedom of self-consciousness: stoicism, skepticism, and the unhappy consciousness” (§197-230)*; McDowell, “The Apperceptive I and the Empirical Self.” Recommended: Kojève, “Summary of the first six chapters of the Phenomenology.” Pinkard, “The claims of self-sufficient agency: freedom and self-consciousness.” July 19-July 22 Required: V B“The actualization of rational self-consciousness by way of itself.” (§347-393). First paper due on 19th. July 26-July 29 Required: Philosophy of Right, paragraphs 1-4, 35-40, 104, & 236-249. Encyclopedia III, paragraphs 503-528. Recommended: Pinkard, “Hegel’s Philosophy of Right: Freedom, History, and the European State.” * Pippin, “Hegel’s practical philosophy: the realization of freedom.”** Philosophy of Right, paragraphs 278-281 and 360. Encyclopedia III, paragraphs 535-542. August 2-August 5 Catch up, review, and overview. 2nd paper due on Thursday August 5th. August 6 Final Exam:17:30-20:00 M2171 *Paragraph numbers in the Phenomenology are taken from Pinkard’s on-line translation and are the same (here) as those in Miller’s translation of the Phenomenology. **This reading selection is not in the Durak packet but may be downloaded from http://home.uchicago.edu/~rbp1/publications.shtml Two short papers (≤5 pages) will be due, one on July 19th and one on August 5th, and there will be a final exam on August 6th. All three will ask for a commentary on a text of Hegel or on an assigned interpretation of Hegel. Details will be provided in class.
Some reference links on the web: Resources - an overview of some of the Hegel resources on the internet (including one Turkish site!). Texts - an overview of what is available in electronic formats. Phenomenology - Terry Pinkard's translation in progress. Encyclopedia - one of several electronic versions.
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