Hegel's Logic and Metaphysics

This book offers a new interpretation of Hegel's Logic, the foundational work of his philosophical system.

Jacob McNulty (Author)

9781009068284, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 12 September 2024

288 pages
22.7 x 15 x 1.6 cm, 0.42 kg

'In this regard, we can salute the audacity and originality of a work which aims to be more 'philosophical' than strictly historical, but whose strength nevertheless remains in not ignoring a close reading of the text and a detailed assessment of the debates surrounding it.' Valentin Wey, Archives de philosophie

Kant said that logic had not had to take a single step forward since Aristotle, but German Idealists in the following generation made concerted efforts to re-think the logical foundations of philosophy. In this book, Jacob McNulty offers a new interpretation of Hegel's Logic, the key work of his philosophical system. McNulty shows that Hegel is responding to a perennial problem in the history and philosophy of logic: the logocentric predicament. In Hegel, we find an answer to a question so basic that it cannot be posed without risking incoherence: what is the justification for logic? How can one justify logic without already relying upon it? The answer takes the form of re-thinking the role of metaphysics in philosophy, so that logic assumes a new position as derivative rather than primary. This important book will appeal to a wide range of readers in Hegel studies and beyond.

Introduction
German Idealism and the Logocentric Predicament
1. 'Irrational Cognition of the Rational': Hegel on Aristotelian Logic
2. The Ontological Proof as 'The True Critique of the Categories and of Reason': Hegel on Kant's Transcendental Logic
3. Hegel's Critique of 'The Former Metaphysics'
4. Hegel's Response to Kant's Critique of Metaphysics
5. Logical Contradiction and Real Opposition: Hegel on the Laws of Logic
6. Mediated Immediacy: Concept, Judgment and Syllogism
7. A Circle of Circles: Analysis, Synthesis, Dialectic.

Subject Areas: Philosophy: metaphysics & ontology [HPJ], Western philosophy: c 1600 to c 1900 [HPCD]