Hegel and the Challenge of Spinoza: A Study in German Idealism, 1801-1831

by George di Giovanni

Overview

Hegel and the Challenge of Spinoza explores the powerful continuing influence of Spinoza's metaphysical thinking in late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century German philosophy. George di Giovanni examines the ways in which Hegel's own metaphysics sought to meet the challenges posed by Spinoza's monism, not by disproving monism, but by rendering it moot. In this, di Giovanni argues, Hegel was much closer in spirit to Kant and Fichte than to Schelling. This book will be of interest to students and researchers interested in post-Kantian Idealism, Romanticism, and metaphysics.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781108820400
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	08/24/2023
Pages:	260
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.55(d)

About the Author

George di Giovanni is Professor of Philosophy Emeritus at McGill University. He is author of Freedom and Religion in Kant and His Immediate Successors (Cambridge University Press, 2005), editor of many essay collections, including Karl Leonhard Reinhold and the Enlightenment (2010), and editor and translator of numerous texts by Kant, Hegel and Jacobi.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction: The Spinoza Connection, or the Discovery of 'Feeling'; 2. The Nature of 'Nature' in Contention; 3. The Transcendental Spinozism of the Wissenschaftslehre; 4. Schelling's Prophetic Spinozism; 5. Schelling, Hegel, and Positivity; 6. Of Things Divine and Logical.

Editorial Reviews

'Di Giovanni's new book offers a synoptic and accessible presentation of German idealism with an eye toward clarifying under-appreciated texts in overlooked periods of this tradition, particularly the late Fichte and the late Schelling, and highlighting understudied themes of central importance within this tradition, particularly the philosophy of religion and the concept of feeling.' G. Anthony Bruno, Royal Holloway, University of London

‘The book is rich in analysis.’ Gilles Marmasse, Archives de philosophie (translated from French)

‘… a significant study that successfully combines a rich historical reconstruction of the development of German classical philosophy with a specific systematic approach borrowed from the philosophy of religion … One of the book’s main merits is its original and engaging perspective on the role of the philosophy of religion, which underscores the relevance of Hegel’s proposal for this specific systematic approach.’ Mattia Megli, Hegel and the Challenge of Spinoza

‘di Giovanni’s book offers a significant analysis of the historical development and conceptual nuances of a central issue raised by Jacobi’s critique of Spinozism. One of the book’s main merits is its original and engaging perspective on the role of the philosophy of religion, which underscores the relevance of Hegel’s proposal for this specific systematic approach.’ Mattia Megli, Universa. Recensioni di filosofia

From the Publisher