The Dialectic of Naturgeist in Hegel’s Anthropology: Soul, World, and Bodiliness

Author

Jiho OhFollow

Defense Date

7-1-2020

Graduation Date

Summer 8-8-2020

Availability

Immediate Access

Submission Type

dissertation

Degree Name

PhD

Department

Philosophy

School

McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts

Committee Chair

Jennifer Bates

Committee Member

Jay Lampert

Committee Member

Gilbert Gérard

Keywords

German Idealism, Kant's and Hegel's anthorpology, Hegel’s 1830 Encyclopedia system, the dialectic of Naturgeist in Hegel’s Anthropology, the soul-body relationship in Hegel's Anthropology, Hegel's theory of madness, Hegel's theory of habit, Naturalism and Hegel's Anthropology

Abstract

The primary concern of the “Anthropology” section in Hegel’s Encyclopedia of 1830 is the relationship between soul and body: how the soul gains an immediate, bodily existence through embodiment, why and how this immediate mode of the soul’s bodily existence is precarious, and how the soul becomes second nature by overcoming the immediate, bodily existence through habit, more precisely. Importantly, the “Anthropology” is the place in Hegel’s Encyclopedia system where the Philosophy of Nature ends, and the Philosophy of Spirit begins. The thematization of the soul-body relationship in the “Anthropology” is thus essentially framed by a broader, systematic problem concerning the relationship between nature and spirit. What Hegel ultimately theorizes by thematizing the soul-body relationship, in other words, is how spirit emerges out of nature as spirit: how spirit appears in its submergence in and subordination to nature, develops itself up to the point where its negativity burst out, and sublates its naturalness. The goal of this dissertation is to offer a comprehensive analysis of the “Anthropology” section in Hegel’s Encyclopedia of 1830, spelling out its twofold concern, that is, the emergence of spirit out of nature through the soul-body relationship. It claims that the “Anthropology” does not simply thematize the soul-body relationship but conceptualizes a threefold complex consisting of soul, world, and body. It further reconstructs Hegel’s treatment of this ontological, existential complex in the Anthropology in terms of the dialectic of Naturgeist and considers how human existence and life are understood under this dialectic.

Language

English

Recommended Citation

Oh, J. (2020). The Dialectic of Naturgeist in Hegel’s Anthropology: Soul, World, and Bodiliness (Doctoral dissertation, Duquesne University). Retrieved from https://dsc.duq.edu/etd/1915