Abstract

There are two major exegetical problems facing the student of Hegel: the precise formal role to be played by the 1807 Phenomenology of Mind within the total system, and the aging content of the second part of the Encyclopaedia, the Philosophy of Nature. There is no doubt as to the role of the Naturphilosophie, it is the exposition of the Absolute Idea in the moment of its self-diremption [[sic]]. But in setting forth the course of this natural moment, Hegel was compelled to rely upon the terminology and data provided by the empirical sciences of the early nineteenth century. This necessary reliance upon what was, in Hegel's day, the "state of the art," has left his present-day followers with the particularly difficult task of not only discerning what Hegel said and meant, but of determining what--in the face of the steady advance of contemporary physical science--yet retains its factual value within that system. This sort of exegesis requires a double expertise, a knowledge of Hegelianism and modern physics. There is, in addition, a danger. The inquisitive Hegelian who would follow Hegel's own dictum regarding the fundamental identity of form and content might well be led to the slippery conclusion that a revision in the empirical content of the Naturphilosophie would necessitate a transformation of the system itself.