Hegel's Philosophy of Nature
A Critical Guide

These essays bring together various perspectives on Hegel's Philosophy of Nature and illuminate the complexity of his philosophical project.

Marina F. Bykova (Edited by)

9781316519271, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 12 December 2024

334 pages
23.6 x 16 x 2.2 cm, 0.626 kg

'This volume fully fulfills its dual function of introducing both the Hegelian philosophy of nature and the most recent state of its interpretation, by offering both general historical and systematic overviews … studies on the major moments in the development of nature … and reflections on the possible actualizations of the Hegelian attempt.' Victor Béguin, Archives de philosophie

Hegel's Philosophy of Nature constitutes the second part of his mature philosophical system presented in the Encyclopaedia of the Philosophical Sciences, and covers an exceptionally broad spectrum of themes and issues, as Hegel considers the content and structure of how humanity approaches nature and how nature is understood by humanity. The essays in this volume bring together various perspectives on Hegel's Philosophy of Nature, emphasizing its functional role within the Encyclopaedia and its importance for understanding the complexity of Hegel's philosophical project. Together they illuminate the core ideas which form Hegel's philosophical framework in the realm of nature.

Hegel's philosophy of nature: its origins, development, and contemporary relevance introduction Marina F. Bykova
Part I. Hegel's Philosophy of Nature in the Historical and Systematic Context: 1. The feebleness of the concept in nature: a challenge to conceptual realism? Robert Stern and Leonard Weiss
2. Nature and its limits: Hegel's idealist critique of physicalism, naturalism, and essentialism Sebastian Stein
3. Naturphilosophie and the problem of clean hands: Hegel and Alexander von Humboldt on nature Elizabeth Millán Brusslan
4. On Hegel's account of nature and its philosophical investigation Marina F. Bykova
5. The logic of nature – Nature as the 'Idea in the Form of Otherness' Angelica Nuzzo
Part II. Cosmology, Mechanics, and Physics: 6. Hegel's dissertation on the orbits of the planets: Plato, Kepler and Newton as cosmologists Paul Redding
7. Hegel's syllogism of analogy and organic conception of cosmic life: a Speculative Kantian legacy in his absolute mechanics? Cinzia Ferrini
8. Hegel's mechanics as a system of steps from space and time to celestial motion Ralph M. Kaufmann
9. Logic and physics in Hegel's philosophy of nature Stephen Houlgate
Part III. Organics: 10. Hegel's theory of animal embodiment Christopher Yeomans
11. A past without history and the conditions of life. Hegel on the terrestrial organism Ansgar Lyssy
12. Human beings as the 'Perfect Animals': Hegel on the difference between animal life and human spirit Nicolás García Mills
Part IV. On Contemporary Challenges for the Philosophy of Nature: 13. The prospects for an idealist natural philosophy: logic and nature Terry Pinkard
14. Is there a future for the philosophy of nature? John W. Burbidge
Bibliography.

Subject Areas: Western philosophy: c 1600 to c 1900 [HPCD]