The Return of Metaphysics: Hegel vs Kant

German Idealism and the fate of philosophy

For most of its history western philosophy was dominated by metaphysics, the attempt to know the necessary features of the world simply by thinking. Then came Kant, who showed that reason alone can’t gain knowledge of the world without the help of experience. Hegel’s philosophy is seen by many as ignoring the lessons of Kant’s critique of metaphysics and regressing to a pre-Kantian style of philosophy. But a more careful reading of Hegel shows that he was not in fact ignoring Kant’s lesson, but following his argument: Even if pure reason can’t know the world, it can know itself. And in discovering the nature of thought, Hegel argued, one also discovers the nature of anything that can be thought, that is, reality. Thus, writes Robert Pippin, Hegel was able to change the fate of metaphysics. 

 

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Peter O'Connor 26 January 2022

Dear Prof Pippin,
Even if the Rockefeller Uni (native Chicagoans know who financed and founded) is protected gated community named after Chicago within the huge black ghetto on the South Side, maybe you met somebody who told you about Rudolf Steiner's observation of thinking and you can write your next book on that?

Great Yupi 24 January 2022

Can you publish an article about how we don't know what gravity is and that we don't know if it's going to behave the same in the future. According to David Hume problem of induction. Also can anyone direct me to somwhere that I can ask questions to physicists.

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