The Interplay of Speculation and Imagination in Hegel's Encyclopedic System (2011 - 2014)

This project was funded by the Fritz Thyssen Foundation.

Abstract

Hegel's warning that his Encyclopedia of the Philosophical Sciences must be complemented by oral lectures should be understood as the dependence of speculative philosophy on the vivid language of imagination. Through this third dimension, the encyclopedia points beyond itself to the necessity of a living comprehension of the speculative contents therein by the listener and reader; the encyclopedia's systematic character is determined by the nature of this comprehension. It is the aim of this project to show, against the background of the distinction between speculation and imagination fundamental to Hegel's philosophy, that imagination is not only a standpoint of finite thought which is limited in its claims by speculative thought, but also the "interlocutor", which speculative thought needs to attain its full reality.

In connection with this, it will be shown that the Encyclopedia of the Philosophical Sciences, the philosophy of religion which forms a part of it, and the Science of Logic as its foundation are aimed, through their approaches, at the presentation, transmission, and justification of this interplay - the liberation of speculative thought from the imagination and its constant return to it. This work will make it evident that finite thought in the form of "imagination" is a key concept not only of the philosophy of religion, but also, in its interplay with speculation, of the whole encyclopedic system.

Project information

Project title
Das Zusammenspiel von Spekulation und Vorstellung in Hegels enzyklopädischem System
[The Interplay of Speculation and Imagination in Hegel's Encyclopedic System]
Funded by
Fritz Thyssen Foundation
Project link
-
Project duration
2011 - 2014
Funds awarded
unknown
Project team
Dr. Kazimir Drilo
Associated Chair
Chair of Theoretical Philosophy