True Purposes in Hegel's Logic

An original interpretation of a key concept of Hegel's philosophy with implications for the correct understanding of his entire legacy

Edgar Maraguat (Author)

9781009304948, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 27 April 2023

272 pages
23.5 x 15.8 x 2 cm, 0.54 kg

'True Purposes in Hegel's Logic has a rare combination of qualities: a cogent and eloquent presentation of an argument, a careful and subtle analysis of the text, and an original yet faithful interpretation of Hegel's project. It convincingly shows that Hegel takes all living beings, and not just human beings, to realize true purposes. This is an urgent intervention on a timely topic.' Andreja Novakovic, University of California, Berkeley

This book addresses a key issue in Hegel's philosophical legacy - his account of purposiveness and teleology - that has often been wrongly criticised and misunderstood. In a re-examination of Hegel's account of purposiveness and teleology, Edgar Maraguat explores its connection with the rest of Hegel's philosophy, traces the influence of Aristotle and Kant on its arguments, and closely analyses its place in Hegel's Science of Logic. The result is a new perspective not only on the nature, spirit and goals of the Logic, but on the whole of Hegel's philosophical legacy, and will appeal to a range of readers in Hegel studies, the history of philosophy, and the history of ideas.

1. Introduction: Teleology in The Science of Logic
2. Kant's antinomies of freedom and teleology
3. Kant's concept of inner purposiveness
4. Aristotle's defence of natural teleology
5. The non-truth of mechanism
6. The non-truth of external purposiveness
7. The truth of inner purposiveness
8. The immediate actuality of purposes
9. The absolute realised purpose.

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