Petrified Intelligence

A critical introduction to Hegel's metaphysics and philosophy of nature.

Wes Furlotte critically evaluates Hegel's philosophy of human freedom in terms of his often-disregarded conception of nature. In doing so, he gives us a new portrait of Hegel's final system that is surprisingly relevant for our contemporary world, connecting it with recent work in speculative realism and new materialism.

Hegel and the Philosophy of Nature is an important new study of Hegel's profound philosophical account of the natural world. It examines Hegel's alleged idealism, his concepts of space and time, the conception of speculative geometry, his critical engagement with Kant's Metaphysical Foundations of Natural Science, his critique of Newtonian science, his concept of evolution, the notion of Aufhebung, and his infamous theory of planetary objects. The book confirms that, far from being surpassed by nineteenth- and twentieth-century scientific developments, Hegel's philosophy of nature continues to have great significance for our understanding of the natural world.

Can philosophy conceive of a perfect animal? Can it think of the animal as anything other than an imperfect human? This books using the Hegelian dialect to rework the philosophy of nature in order to assign a proper place to the animal.

Clark Butler presents an innovative analysis of Hegel's most challenging work in Hegel's Logic—the first major English-language treatment of Hegel's Science of Logic to appear in nearly fifteen years. Although earlier commentators on the Logic have considered standard analytical philosophy-and with it modern logic-in opposition to Hegel. Butler views it as a legitimate approach in terms of which Hegel needs to be understood. This interpretation allows him to address the rigor of Hegel's thought on several levels as at once an exercise in purely conceptual redefinition and a full-bodied work in metaphysical ontology and even theology. The result is an account of the Logic intelligible to analytical philosophers as well as non-specialists.

In celebration of the 250th anniversary of the birth of G.W.F. Hegel, Slavoj Žižek gives us a reading of the philosophical giant that changes our way of thinking about our new posthuman era. No ordinary study of Hegel, Hegel in a Wired Brain investigates what he might have had to say about the idea of the 'wired brain' – what happens when a direct link between our mental processes and a digital machine emerges. Žižek explores the phenomenon of a wired brain effect, and what might happen when we can share our thoughts directly with others. He hones in on the key question of how it shapes our experience and status as 'free' individuals and asks what it means to be human when a machine can read our minds. With characteristic verve and enjoyment of the unexpected, Žižek connects Hegel to the world we live in now, shows why he is much more fun than anyone gives him credit for, and why the 21st century might just be Hegelian.

The Palgrave Handbook of German Idealism and Poststructuralism offers a wide-ranging dialogue between theory and German Idealism, joining up the various lines of influence connecting German Idealist and Romantic philosophies in all their variety to post-'68 European philosophies, from Derrida and Deleuze to Žižek and Malabou. Key features: Provides in-depth reflections on the various conversations between German Idealism and theory, including an expanded canon of Idealist philosophers and a wide range of contemporary anti-foundationalist thinkers. Includes marginalized voices and concepts that reflect both contemporary concerns as well as the sheer abundance of readings of German Idealism undertaken by European theorists over the last fifty years. Expands the existing scholarship by focusing on new, future directions emerging out of the idealism-theory relationship. The Palgrave Handbook of German Idealism and Poststructuralism is essential reading for researchers and students of all levels — from senior scholars to advanced undergraduates — working on the legacy of German Idealist philosophers within philosophy departments, as well as all those interested in theory from across the humanities.