Hegel and the art of negation. Hass, Creativity and contemporary thought : negativity, creativity and contemporary thought

**Now with complete table of contents** Why is the philosopher Hegel returning as a potent force in contemporary thinking? Why, after a long period when Hegel and his dialectics of history have seemed less compelling than they were for previous generations of philosophers, is study of Hegel again becoming important? Fashionably contemporary theorists like Francis Fukuyama and Slavoj Žižek, as well as radical theologians like Thomas Altizer, have all recently been influenced by Hegel, the philosopher whose philosophy seems somehow perennial – or, to borrow an idea from Nietzsche, eternally returning. Exploring this revival via the notion of 'negation' in Hegelian thought, and relating such negativity to sophisticated ideas about art and artistic creation, Andrew Hass argues that the notion of Hegelian negation moves us into an expansive territory where art, religion and philosophy may all be radically reconceived and broken open into new forms of philosophical expression. The implications of such a revived Hegelian philosophy are, the author argues, vast and current. Hegel thereby becomes the philosopher par excellence who can address vital issues in politics, economics, war and violence, leading to a new form of globalized ethics. Hass makes a bold and original contribution to religion, philosophy and the history of ideas. "Andrew Hass' __Hegel and the Art of Negation__ is a comprehensive and magisterial rethinking of Hegel, not only calling forth a truly contemporary Hegel, but a new Hegel: a Hegel at the very center of thinking as such, and of all thinking, or all truly critical and universal thinking." —Thomas J J Altizer, Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies, The State University of New York, Stony Brook "Here is a truly artistic homage to the artistry at the heart of Hegel's thought: the sheer restless negativity that forever differentiates Hegel from Hegelianism, or perhaps Hegelianism from other -isms. In this enjoyable text Hegel returns - negating the negation he must, of course, also undergo - as freshly thought-provoking and challenging as ever." —Andrew Shanks, Canon Theologian, Manchester Cathedral, author of __Hegel's Political Theology__ and of __Hegel and Religious Faith__ This is an engaging and provocative exploration of the Hegelian art of negation. Andrew Hass is well informed about Hegel himself as well as the latter s commentators and critics. The book is important for trying to bring Hegel's view of art into proper communication with the full dimensions of Hegel's overall philosophical venture." —William Desmond, Professor of Philosophy, Katholieke Universteit Leuven and David R Cook Visiting Professor of Philosophy, Villanova University, author of __Hegel's God__ **Andrew Hass** is Reader in Religion at the University of Stirling and Executive General Editor of the journal Literature and Theology. He is the author of __Auden's O: The Loss of One's Sovereignty in the Making of Nothing__ (2013) and __Poetics of Critique: The Interdisciplinarity of Textuality__ (2003) and co-editor of __The Oxford Handbook of English Literature and Theology__ (2007, with David Jasper and Elisabeth Jay). Cover Title Page Dedication Copyright Contents Preface and acknowledgements Abbreviations Introduction: Hegel and the Enlightenment The path to Hegel's system Kant's critical philosophy The young Hegel part I: The adventures of Hegelianism 1. Introducing Hegelian idealism From consciousness to spirit: Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit Lordship and bondage: the struggle for recognition From spirit to idea: Hegel's Logic History, freedom, modernity The "end of history"? Modern freedom British idealism and post-analytic philosophy Summary of key points Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit Lordship and bondage: the struggle for recognition Hegel's logic History, freedom, modernity The "end of history" Modern freedom British idealism 2. Adventures in Hegelianism The dissolution of the Hegelian school The question of religion, philosophy, politics: Right and Left Hegelianism After Hegelianism: Kierkegaard and Marx Kierkegaard's existentialist critique of Hegel Marx's materialist critique of Hegel Alienation: from Hegel to Marx Summary of key points The dissolution of the Hegelian school Right and Left Hegelianism Kierkegaard and Marx part II: German Hegelianism 3. Reification and metaphysics: Lukács and Heidegger Lukács's critique of Hegel Reification: Lukács's critique of modernity Dialectics and difference: Heidegger's confrontation with Hegel Heidegger's analysis of existence (Dasein) Heidegger's criticism of Hegel on time and spirit Heidegger's reading of Hegel's Phenomenology Heidegger on self-consciousness Hegel's concept experience Summary of key points Lukács's critique of Hegel Reification: Lukács's critique of modernity Heidegger's criticism of Hegel on time and spirit Heidegger's reading of Hegel's Phenomenology Heidegger on self-consciousness Hegel's concept of experience 4. Enlightenment, domination and non-identity: Adorno's negative dialectics Enlightenment, myth and the fate of reason The dialectic of enlightenment The intertwining of enlightenment and myth The domination of nature Art as commodity: the culture industry Three problems for Adorno and Horkheimer Adorno's Hegel and negative dialectics The impasses of Adorno's negative dialectics Summary of key points Adorno and Horkheimer's Dialectic of Enlightenment Culture industry Adorno's negative dialectics Criticisms of Adorno's negative dialectics 5. Modernity, intersubjectivity and recognition: Habermas and Honneth Hegel as philosopher of modernity Labour and interaction Honneth's neo-Hegelian theory of recognition Honneth's reading of the Jena Hegel Love, sociality and the struggle for recognition Ethics and politics of recognition Summary of key points Hegel as philosopher of modernity Labour and interaction Honneth's theory of recognition part III: French Hegelianism 6. French Hegelianism and its discontents: Wahl, Hyppolite, Kojève A French Hegel Wahl's unhappy consciousness Koyré and Hegelian time Hyppolite's Hegel: humanism, tragedy and being Hegelian humanism: between existentialism and Marxism Unhappy consciousness revisited Heideggerian logic: Hyppolite's Logic and Existence The struggle for recognition and the end of history: Kojève Human desire as the desire for recognition Masters and slaves Two problems with Kojève's Hegel The end of history? Kojève's legacy Summary of key points Wahl and Koyré on the unhappy consciousness and time Hyppolite's reading of Hegel Kojève's reading of Hegel 7. Between existentialism and Marxism: Sartre, de Beauvoir, Merleau-Ponty Sartre's existential critique of Hegel Hegel on the Other: epistemological and ontological optimism De Beauvoir's critique of Sartre: freedom and oppression Woman as the other The ethics of ambiguity Merleau-Ponty: from Hegel's existentialism to hyperdialectic Summary of points Sartre's critique of Hegel De Beauvoir's Second Sex and Ethics of Ambiguity Merleau-Ponty: Hegel's existentialism and hyperdialectics 8. Deconstructing Hegelianism: Deleuze, Derrida and the question of difference Hegel and poststructuralism Deleuze: from anti-dialectics to dialectics of difference Active and reactive forces The "triumph" of reactive forces Deleuze: from contradiction to non-conceptual difference A Deleuzean dialectics? Derrida's "Hegelian" deconstruction of Levinas Derrida on Bataille on Hegel Mastery and sovereignty: from restricted to general economy Undoing dialectics: absolute difference Beyond Hegelianism? Summary of key points Deleuze: from anti-dialectics to dialectics of difference Deleuze: from contradiction to non-conceptual difference Derrida's "Hegelian" reading of Levinas Derrida on Bataille on Hegel Conclusion: the future of Hegelianism Questions for discussion and revision 1. Introducing Hegelianism idealism 2. Adventures in Hegelianism 3. Reification and metaphysics: Lukács and Heidegger 4. Enlightenment, domination and non-identity: Adorno's negative dialectics 5. Modernity, intersubjectivity and recognition: Habermas and Honneth 6. French Hegelianism and its discontents: Wahl, Hyppolite, Kojève 7. Between Marxism and existentialism: Sartre, de Beauvoir, Merleau-Ponty 8. Deconstructing Hegelianism: Deleuze, Derrida and the question of difference Further reading Hegel Hegel and Heidegger Hegel and Adorno Hegel and critical theory French Hegelianism (Wahl, Kojève, Hyppolite) Sartre, de Beauvoir and Merleau-Ponty on Hegelianism Deleuze, Derrida and Hegelian dialectic Key texts References Index Now with complete table of contents Understanding Hegelianism explores the ways in which Hegelian and anti-Hegelian currents of thought have shaped some of the most significant movements in twentieth-century European philosophy, particularly the traditions of critical theory, existentialism, Marxism and poststructuralism. The first part of the book examines Kierkegaard's existentialism and Marx's materialism, which present two defining poles of subsequent Hegelian and anti-Hegelian movements. The second part looks at the contrasting critiques of Hegel by Lukacs and Heidegger, which set the stage for the appropriation of Hegelian themes in German critical theory and the anti-Hegelian turn in French poststructuralism. The role of Hegelian themes in the work of Adorno, Habermas and Honneth are explored. In the third part, the rich tradition of Hegelianism in modern French philosophy is considered - the work of Wahl, Kojeve, Hyppolite, Lefebvre, Sartre, de Beauvoir as well as the radical critique of Hegelianism articulated by Derrida and Deleuze. Although the focus is primarily on German and French appropriations of Hegelian thought, the author also explores some of the recent developments in Anglophone Hegelianism. "Twentieth-century continental philosophy can best be understood as a series of responses to Hegel and yet that simple fact is often invisible to students. Robert Sinnerbrink's eminently accessible study opens up that perspective in a most impressive way and thereby promises to make a genuine contribution to how the next generation sees that history." --Robert Bernasconi, University of Memphis Robert Sinnerbrink is Lecturer in European Philosophy at Macquarie University, Sydney. Why is the philosopher Hegel returning as a potent force in contemporary thinking? Why, after a long period when Hegel and his dialectics of history have seemed less compelling than they were for previous generations of philosophers, is study of Hegel again becoming important? Fashionable contemporary theorists like Francis Fukuyama and Slavoj Zizek, as well as radical theologians like Thomas Altizer, have all recently been influenced by Hegel, the philosopher whose philosophy now seems somehow perennial- or, to borrow an idea from Nietzsche-eternally returning. Exploring this revival via the notion of 'negation' in Hegelian thought, and relating such negativity to sophisticated ideas about art and artistic creation, Andrew W. Hass argues that the notion of Hegelian negation moves us into an expansive territory where art, religion and philosophy may all be radically conceived and broken open into new forms of philosophical expression. The implications of such a revived Hegelian philosophy are, the author argues, vast and current. Hegel thereby becomes the philosopher par excellence who can address vital issues in politics, economics, war and violence, leading to a new form of globalised ethics. Hass makes a bold and original contribution to religion, philosophy, art and the history of ideas. Why is the philosopher Hegel returning as a potent force in contemporary thinking? Why, after a long period when Hegel and his dialectics of history have seemed less compelling than they were for previous generations of philosophers, is study of Hegel again becoming important? Fashionably contemporary theorists like Francis Fukuyama and Slavoj Zizek, as well as radical theologians like Thomas Altizer, have all recently been influenced by Hegel, the philosopher whose philosophy seems somehow perennial - or, to borrow an idea from Nietzsche, eternally returning. Exploring this revival via the notion of 'negation' in Hegelian thought, and relating such negativity to sophisticated ideas about art and artistic creation, Andrew Hass argues that the notion of Hegelian negation moves us into an expansive territory where art, religion and philosophy may all be radically reconceived and broken open into new forms of philosophical expression. The implications of such a revived Hegelian philosophy are, the author argues, vast and current. Hegel thereby becomes the philosopher par excellence who can address vital issues in politics, economics, war and violence, leading to a new form of globalised ethics. Hass makes a bold and original contribution to religion, philosophy and the history of ideas. Why Is The Philosopher Hegel Returning As A Potent Force In Contemporary Thinking? Why, After A Long Period When Hegel And His Dialectics Of History Have Seemed Less Compelling Than They Were For Previous Generations Of Philosophers, Is Study Of Hegel Again Becoming Important? Exploring This Revival Via The Notion Of 'negation' In Hegelian Thought, And Relating Such Negativity To Sophisticated Ideas About Art And Artistic Creation, Andrew Hass Argues That The Notion Of Hegelian Negation Moves Us Into An Expansive Territory Where Art, Religion And Philosophy May All Be Radically Reconceived And Broken Open Into New Forms Of Philosophical Expression. Part One: The Hegel Of Negation: Negation's Art In Phenomenology Of Spirit -- Negation's Logic In Science Of Logic -- Art's Negation In Aesthetics -- Part Two: The Negation Of Hegel: The Returning Of Hegel And Negation: Sartre And Hyppolite -- The Tolling Of Hegel And Negation: Derrida -- The Living Of Hegel And Negation: Kristeva, Nancy, Agamben, Žižek, Malabou -- Part Three: Furthering Hegel: The Ought Of Negation. Andrew W. Hass. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 213-221) And Index.