The Founding Act of Modern Ethical Life: Hegel's Critique of Kant's Moral and Political Philosophy - Hardcover

by Ido Geiger (Author)

This book argues that an essential part of Hegel's historical-political thinking has escaped the notice of its interpreters. It is well known that Hegel conceives of history as the gradual progress of rational thought and of forms of political life. But he is usually thought to place himself at the end of this process--his philosophical end is to give a rational account of the end of this process, namely, modern ethical life. This overlooks the question of how a new shape of ethical life is founded. Hegel holds that the founding act of a new form of life is the act of an unwitting agent, and it necessarily meets with the violent incomprehension of the society it transforms. The tragedy of Antigone, the French Revolution and its aftermath (the Terror and the Napoleonic Wars), and wars generally are all examples of the tragically violent foundation of a new form of life. Moreover, Hegel does not claim that the foundation of modern ethical life is a fact of the past--it lies in the future.

Front Jacket

This book argues that an essential part of Hegel's historical-political thinking has escaped the notice of its interpreters. It is well known that Hegel conceives of history as the gradual progress of rational thought and of forms of political life. But he is usually thought to place himself at the end of this process--his philosophical end is to give a rational account of the end of this process, namely, modern ethical life. This overlooks the question of how a new shape of ethical life is founded. Hegel holds that the founding act of a new form of life is the act of an unwitting agent, and it necessarily meets with the violent incomprehension of the society it transforms. The tragedy of Antigone, the French Revolution and its aftermath (the Terror and the Napoleonic Wars), and wars generally are all examples of the tragically violent foundation of a new form of life. Moreover, Hegel does not claim that the foundation of modern ethical life is a fact of the past--it lies in the future.

Back Jacket

Geiger addresses Hegel's critique of Kant's ethical theory with a fresh voice and in a way that is new and worthy of our attention. His book is concise and beautifully written, and he is able to move skillfully between Hegel's texts.--Frederick Neuhouser, Barnard College
"The meaning, and the merits, of Hegel's critique of Kantian ethics, based on the Hegelian concept of ethical life, are a source of endless controversy and perplexity. Hegel's conception of the founding of a new ethical life by world-historical individuals and his account of the role of war in the ethical life of states are more often the focus of scandal than sources of insight. Geiger's thoughtful and provocative book reinterprets Hegel's philosophy of history, and especially his conception of war, so that it sheds new light on the issues surrounding the Hegelian critique of Kantian morality." --Allen W. Wood, Stanford University

Author Biography

Ido Geiger is Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel.