Author Biography

Karen Ng is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University. She specializes in nineteenth-century post-Kantian philosophy and Frankfurt School Critical Theory.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Introduction: Hegel's Concept of LifeChapter 2. "Kant's Great Service to Philosophy": Purposiveness and Conceptual FormChapter 3. Hegel's Speculative Identity ThesisChapter 4. Actuality and the Genesis of the ConceptChapter 5. Life as Ground, and the Limits of the Subjective ConceptChapter 6. The Objectivity of the ConceptChapter 7. Life as the Immediate IdeaChapter 8. The Idea of Cognition and Absolute Method

Review

"One of the most prodigious works on Hegel, Ng's is a book that will inform Hegel scholarship and scholarship in Idealism for decades to come. Perhaps more importantly, it augments an increasingly compelling basis for the rethinking and reframing of contemporary philosophical issues to capitalize on the dynamic insights of Hegel's thought, helping us to leave farther behind the hackneyed clichés of the formulaic Hegelianism that became commonplaceoutside Hegel studies. This book is a must for serious scholars on Hegel and for those interested in the philosopher who, more than most in the modern world, substantially influenced an unusual range of academicand sociopolitical movements. Ng's book is a masterpiece." -- Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews"In Hegel's Concept of Life, Karen Ng tackles head-on the most puzzling element in Hegel's theoretical philosophy: the relation of self-consciousness and life. With subtlety and rigor she fulfills all three desiderata of a new interpretation. She retells the story of Hegel's development and the role of Kant's critical philosophy therein, provides a new reading of the famously enigmatic self-consciousness chapter of the Phenomenology of Spirit,and demonstrates that her reading accounts for the key moves in the final part of the Science of Logic. With her successful integration of the themes of the unity of judgment and the unity of life, Ng sets a newstandard for interpreting Hegel's idealism." -- Dean Moyar, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Johns Hopkins University"In the emerging disputes about the status of Hegel's non-standard naturalism, Karen Ng has found new ground to explore in the relation of Hegel's Logic to Kant's third Critique. She does this convincingly and with great brio. Her book marks a new stage in Hegel scholarship." -- Terry Pinkard, University Professor of Philosophy, Georgetown University"In this original, clear and compelling interpretation of Hegel, Karen Ng builds a strong case for a broadly naturalistic account that takes the dynamics of living processes to the very core of his Science of Logic. Far from being some rationalist fantasy, Hegel's logically and metaphysically central notion of "the Concept", by drawing on and transforming ideas from Kant's Critique of Judgment, gives expression to the dynamics of life as theultimate ground of reason. Such a focus allows us to see a unity within Hegel's method stretching from his early Schelling-inspired critique of Fichte to his later systematic thought. This is a philosophically richcontribution to our understanding of this profound but difficult thinker" -- Paul Redding, Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, The University of Sydney

Long Description

Karen Ng sheds new light on Hegel's famously impenetrable philosophy. She does so by offering a new interpretation of Hegel's idealism and by foregrounding Hegel's Science of Logic, revealing that Hegel's theory of reason revolves around the concept of organic life. Beginning with the influence of Kant's Critique of Judgment on Hegel, Ng argues that Hegel's key philosophical contributions concerning self-consciousness, freedom, and logic all develop around the idea of internal purposiveness, which appealed to Hegel deeply. She charts the development of the purposiveness theme in Kant's third Critique, and argues that the most important innovation from that text is the claim that the purposiveness of nature opens up and enables theoperation of the power of judgment. This innovation is essential for understanding Hegel's philosophical method in the Differenzschrift (1801) and Phenomenology of Spirit (1807), where Hegel, developing lines of thought from Fichte and Schelling, argues against Kant that internal purposiveness constitutes cognition'sactivity, shaping its essential relation to both self and world. From there, Ng defends a new and detailed interpretation of Hegel's Science of Logic, arguing that Hegel's Subjective Logic can be understood as Hegel's version of a critique of judgment, in which life comes to be understood as opening up the possibility of intelligibility. She makes the case that Hegel's theory of judgment is modelled on reflective and teleological judgments, in which something's species or kind provides the objective context for predication. The Subjective Logicculminates in the argument that life is a primitive or original activity of judgment, one that is the necessary presupposition for the actualization of self-conscious cognition. Through bold and ambitious new arguments, Ng demonstrates the ongoing dialectic between life and self-conscious cognition, providing ground-breaking ways of understanding Hegel's philosophical system.

Review Text

"This title was awarded the Journal of the History of Philosophy 2021 Book Prize." --"One of the most prodigious works on Hegel, Ng's is a book that will inform Hegel scholarship and scholarship in Idealism for decades to come. Perhaps more importantly, it augments an increasingly compelling basis for the rethinking and reframing of contemporary philosophical issues to capitalize on the dynamic insights of Hegel's thought, helping us to leave farther behind the hackneyed clich

Review Quote

"This title was awarded the Journal of the History of Philosophy 2021 Book Prize." -- "One of the most prodigious works on Hegel, Ng's is a book that will inform Hegel scholarship and scholarship in Idealism for decades to come. Perhaps more importantly, it augments an increasingly compelling basis for the rethinking and reframing of contemporary philosophical issues to capitalize on the dynamic insights of Hegel's thought, helping us to leave farther behind the hackneyed clich

Feature

Selling point: Offers a detailed, systematic account of Hegel's concept of life in connection with his conceptions of self-consciousness, freedom, and logicSelling point: Presents a new interpretation of Hegel's Science of LogicSelling point: Sheds new light on understanding the development of post-Kantian philosophy

New Feature

Chapter 1. Introduction: Hegel's Concept of Life Chapter 2. "Kant's Great Service to Philosophy": Purposiveness and Conceptual Form Chapter 3. Hegel's Speculative Identity Thesis Chapter 4. Actuality and the Genesis of the Concept Chapter 5. Life as Ground, and the Limits of the Subjective Concept Chapter 6. The Objectivity of the Concept Chapter 7. Life as the Immediate Idea Chapter 8. The Idea of Cognition and Absolute Method

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