Logic and Metaphysics in Hegel. Rethinking the Identity Principle

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In the Western philosophical tradition, there is a long line of thinkers who have tried to express this immediate mediation, this coincidence between the opposites in various fashions. And each time the philosophical perspective has been hindered by the extreme difficulty of finding the right words capable to express what such a unity would entail. The difficulty occurs because the trial of this finding would unmistakably end by trying to get the words in themselves to be effectively the very unity that they are intending to suggest. Quite a difficult task, since this unity supposes the transfixion of the thinking and of its language expression in order to make them capable to participate to the very transcendence that they invoke. This was a problem that was very sharply observed by G.W.F. Hegel. The German thinker developed an entire system around this issue, commencing Horațiu M. Trif-Boia  LOGIC AND METAPHYSICS IN HEGEL. RETHINKING THE IDENTITY PRINCIPLE 8 with the Preface to the Phenomenology of the Spirit where he considers the very important distinction between the ordinary proposition that finds its end in the predicate, thusly suppressing any possible transfiguration of the subject, and the speculative proposition which carries with the subject all the possible predicates of its essence, and ending with the Concept section of the Science of Logic where he considers the manner through which logic is to deal speculatively in order to avoid a thinking that is only formal, and, thus deprived of the richness of the real content experience that would result from its own form and would be coincident with it. Page 1 Introduction A. Hegelian Onto-Theo-Logy and Heidegger’s Ontological Difference Problem I. Heideggerian identity The word and the deed Identity as Principle The Origin of Identity. The leap of the spring Essence of Being and Essence of Man spring from the Sameness II. Hegelian onto-theo-logy and Heideggerian Unverborgenheit Aufhebung or Schritt zurück? Why should Being be the Same with Thinking? The Speculative Method B. Speculative ontology and antinomian theology. Metaphysical journey with the Hegelian method III. Thinking the metaphysical Absolute. The Real of the Negative Preamble. Truth and premises Criticist objections Given, reduction and Nothingness The Real and the homonymy of Absence. The Eleatic objection The transcendental appearance of ontological relativism IV. The Homonymy of the Negative reveals Absolute Indeterminate Immediacy Pure original Being Originary actual “Nothingness” or the over-Being: Absolute Indeterminate Immediacy C. Hegel’s identity V. Speculative identity as Being in Absolute self-Mediation Immediacy and (Un)Beginning Beginning without Being? Or the Unity of Being and Nothing in Beginning Being, Nothing, Becoming. Reforming the Identity Principle Reforming Identity: absolute abstract effectiveness passing in Essence VI. Speculative Essence as Being’s Identity in absolute reflection Ineffable Immediacy: Identity of Being and Essence Hegel’s freedom Teleology and absolute necessity The opening of contingency Speculative Essence as the work of Freedom The Ground Contradiction Indeterminate Immediacy, the unsayable freedom Conclusion Bibliography Index