General agenda and meeting structure
We are aiming to build up a substantial understanding of the language, structure, and concepts needed for an in-depth critical study of Hegel’s most challenging work The Science of Logic (Wissenschaft der Logik, 1812-16; 1831). The study group is open to anyone intently interested in Hegel’s philosophy, although some basic acquaintance with Hegel’s philosophy will be required.
We aim develop an understanding of Hegel’s Science of Logic that will enable and encourage future research into the text and Hegel’s thought as a whole. The group has no definite end point. We will first try to grasp the text according to the nature of the logical development and transitions that Hegel presents. Critical evaluation is welcome. We presuppose that everybody has something to learn from the reading, so the group is open to people of different levels of acquaintance with Hegel. Our aim is to understand the weekly reading clearly in terms of (a) the individual transitions of the Logic and (b) the specific project of the Logic. We might, at times, use Hegel’s Encyclopaedia Logic to supplement our reading of the greater Logic. Commentaries are used when required, but not relied upon.
- Meetings generally involve line-by-line and/or paragraph-by-paragraph reading and discussion. Meetings sometimes involve a presentation by a member of the group.
- Commentaries and other secondary literature can be directly discussed with reference to the passage of the text at hand
Record of meetings
This schedule is now updated only as a record of the passages discussed in past weeks (though it was previously a schedule, proper). You are welcome to join the group. To register your interest, please send us your details through the registration page above. Future meetings will be held on UCL’s main Gower Street campus.
Friday, 11th March, 2016, 3-5pm
The Absolute Relation, Absolute Necessity
Reading: Chapter 2: Actuality, pp. 489-490.
Friday, 4th March, 2016, 3-5pm
Actuality, Actuality.
Reading: Chapter 2: Actuality, pp. 485-488.
Friday, 26th February, 2016, 3-5pm
Actuality, Actuality.
Reading: Chapter 2: Actuality, pp. 485-488.
Friday, 12th February, 2016, 3-5pm
Actuality, Actuality.
Reading: Chapter 2: Actuality, pp. 484-485.
Friday, 5th February, 2016, 3-5pm
Actuality, Actuality.
Reading: Chapter 2: Actuality, pp. 484-488.
Friday, 22nd January, 2016, 3-5pm
Actuality, Actuality – Absolute Necessity.
Reading: Chapter 2: Actuality, pp. 482-490.
Friday, 18th December, 2015, 12-2pm
Actuality, Actuality.
Reading: Chapter 2: Actuality, pp. 482-485.
Friday, 4th December, 2015, 12-2pm
Actuality, Actuality.
Reading: Chapter 2: Actuality, pp. 480-488.
Friday, 27th November, 2015, 12-2pm
Actuality, Actuality.
Reading: Chapter 2: Actuality, pp. 480-488.
Friday, 20th November, 2015, 4pm
Actuality, Actuality.
Reading: Chapter 2: Actuality, pp. 477-488.
Friday, 7th August, 2015, 2pm
Actuality, the Absolute.
Reading: Section III introduction and all of Chapter 1: The Absolute, pp. 465-476.
Friday, 31st July, 2015, 2pm
Essential relation, The relation of outer and inner to actuality.
Reading: Chapter 3: Essential Relation, pp. 460-69 of the di Giovanni translation.
Friday, 10th July, 2015, 2pm [MEETING IN THE PHILOSOPHY SEMINAR ROOM, 19 GORDON SQUARE]
Essential Relation, the solicitation of force onwards
Reading: Chapter 3: Essential Relation, pp. 457-64 of the di Giovanni translation.
Friday, 3rd July, 2015, 2pm
Essential Relation, the solicitation of force.
Reading: Chapter 3: Essential Relation, pp. 457-64 of the di Giovanni translation.
Thursday, 25th June, 2015, 2pm
Essential Relation, the solicitation of force.
Reading: Chapter 3: Essential Relation, pp. 457-64 of the di Giovanni translation.
Friday, 19th June, 2015, 2pm
Essential Relation
Reading: Chapter 3: Essential Relation, pp. 449-64 of the di Giovanni translation.
Friday, 22nd May, 2015, 2pm
Appearance
Reading: Chapter 2: Appearance, pp. 437-48 of the di Giovanni translation.
Tuesday, 14th April, 2015, 2pm
Appearance
Reading: Chapter 2: Appearance, pp. 437-48 of the di Giovanni translation.
Tuesday, 31st March, 2015, 2pm
Appearance
Reading: Chapter 2: Appearance, pp. 437-48 of the di Giovanni translation.
Tuesday, 24th March, 2015, 2pm
The Dissolution of the Thing to Appearance
Reading: From ‘(C) The Dissolution of the Thing’ through to the end of the introduction to ‘2 Appearance’, pp. 432-38 of the di Giovanni translation.
Tuesday, 17th March, 2015, 2pm
Concrete Existence to Appearance
Reading: From ‘(c) Reciprocal Action of Things’ through to the end of ‘1 Concrete Existence’, pp. 429-36 of the di Giovanni translation.
Tuesday, 10th March, 2015, 2pm
The Thing and its Properties
Reading: A. The Thing and its Properties, pp. 423-30 of the di Giovanni translation.
Tuesday, 3rd March, 2015, 2pm
Appearance, Concrete Existence, and the Thing and its Properties.
Reading: The beginning of Section II through to the end of A. The Thing and its Properties, pp. 418-30 of the di Giovanni translation.
Tuesday, 10th February, 2015, 2pm
Condition.
Reading: (C) Condition.
Tuesday, 3rd February, 2015, 2pm
Condition.
Reading: (C) Condition.
Tuesday, 27th January, 2015, 2pm
Complete Ground and Condition.
Reading: (B.c.) Complete Ground and (C) Condition.
Tuesday, 20th January, 2015, 2pm
Determinate Ground
Reading: (B) Determinate Ground, pp. 397-409 of the di Giovanni translation.
Friday, 19th December, 2014, 2pm
Absolute Ground
Reading: 3.(A) Absolute Ground, pp. 389-397.
Tuesday, 9th December, 2014, 2pm
Ground.
Reading: Chapter 3: Ground, up until the end of (A) Absolute Ground, pp.386-397 of the di Giovanni translation.
Tuesday, 2nd December, 2014, 2pm
Contradiction.
Reading: Chapter 2: C. Contradiction. pp. 374-385 of the di Giovanni translation.
Tuesday, 25th November, 2014, 2pm
Contradiction.
Reading: Chapter 2: C. Contradiction. pp. 374-385 of the di Giovanni translation.
Tuesday, 18th November, 2014, 2pm
Opposition and contradiction.
Reading: Chapter 2: B.3 Opposition and C. Contradiction. pp. 367-385 of the di Giovanni translation.
Tuesday, 28th October, 2014, 2pm
Identity and Difference
Reading: Chapter 2: The essentialities or the determinations of reflection, pp. 354-374 of the di Giovanni translation.
Tuesday, 21st October, 2014, 2pm
‘Reflection’
Reading: I.C. Reflection, pp. 345-353 of the di Giovanni translation.
Tuesday, 14th October, 2014, 2pm
Introducing the doctrine of essence and ‘shine’
Reading: The introductory section of the Doctrine of Essence followed by the whole of chapter 1: ‘Shine’, pp. 337-353 of the di Giovanni translation.
Tuesday, 7th October, 2014, 2pm [LOCATION: Print Room Café]
Method in the Doctrine of Being.
Reading: Angelica Nuzzo (2011), ‘Thinking Being: Method in Hegel’s Logic of Being’, in, A Companion to Hegel, ed. by Stephen Houlgate and Michael Baur, (Oxford: Blackwell) (a copy can be provided via email).
Monday, 25th August, 2014, 3pm
The becoming of essence.
Reading: ‘The Becoming of Essence’, pp. 326-335 of the di Giovanni translation.
Monday, 2nd August, 2014, 3pm
Real Measure
Reading: The whole of I.III.2 Real Measure, pp. 302-325 of the di Giovanni translation.
Monday, 28th July, 2014, 3pm
The introduction to measure and specific quantity II
Reading: David Gray Carlson, A Commentary on Hegel’s Science of Logic (2007), pp. 197-217 (a photocopy can be provided via email).
Monday, 21st July, 2014, 3pm [PHILOSOPHY SEMINAR ROOM OF 19 GORDON SQUARE]
The introduction to measure and specific quantity.
Reading: ‘C. The introduction to Section III: Measure, and Chapter 1: Specific Quantity (di Giovanni pp. 282-301).
Monday, 14th July, 2014, 3pm [PHILOSOPHY SEMINAR ROOM OF 19 GORDON SQUARE]
The ratio of powers and the introduction to measure.
Reading: ‘C. The ratio of powers’ of Chapter 3 of II. Magnitude (Quantity) and the introduction to Section III: Measure (di Giovanni pp. 278-287).
Monday, 7th July, 2014, 3pm
Ratio or the quantitative relation.
Reading: All of Chapter 3 of II. Magnitude (Quantity) (di Giovanni pp. 271-281).
Monday, 30th June, 2014, 3pm
The Remarks on Quantum
Reading: Remarks 1, 2, and 3 at the end of Quantum (di Giovanni pp. 204-270).
Friday, 20th June, 2014, 3pm
Extensive and Intensive Quantum and Quantitative Infinity
Reading: All of II.2. Quantum, (B) and (C) (di Giovanni pp. 182-204).
Friday, 13th June, 2014, 3pm (Location: Print Room Café)
Quantity and quantum.
Reading: Houlgate, Stephen, ‘Hegel on the Category of Quantity’ (2014).
Friday, 6th June, 2014, 3pm
Continuous and discrete magnitude, the limiting of quantity, and number.
Reading: Section II, Chapter I (Quantity), (B) and (C) and Chapter II (Quantum) (di Giovanni: pp. 165-182).
Friday, 30th May, 2014, 3pm
Pure quantity.
Reading: Section II: Magnitude (Quantity): Introductory remarks to section II and A. Pure Quantity (di Giovanni: pp. 152-165).
Monday, 19th May, 2014, 4pm (Location: Print Room Café)
Being-for-itself 2
Reading: Chapter 3: B. The One and the Many and C. Repulsion and Attraction (di Giovanni: pp. 132-151).
Monday, 12th May, 2014, 4pm
Being-for-itself
Reading: Chapter 3: A. Being-for-itself and B. The One and the Many (di Giovanni: pp. 126-137).
(You are also encouraged to read the two remarks at the end of chapter 2, which we are skipping in our discussion for the sake of time and for keeping the issues clear.)
Monday, 5th May, 2014, 4pm
Affirmative Infinity
Reading: C.c. Affirmative infinity (di Giovanni: pp. 114-120).
Monday, 31st March, 2014, 4pm
Finitude and Infinity
Reading: ‘B. Finitude’ and ‘C.a. The infinite in general’ and ‘C.b. Alternating determination of finite and infinite’ (di Giovanni: pp. 101-113).
Monday, 24th March, 2014, 4pm
Quality and determinate being 2.
Reading: Chapter 2, ‘A.c. Something’ and ‘B. Finitude’ (di Giovanni: pp. 88-108).
Monday, 17th March, 2014, 4pm
Quality and determinate being.
Reading: Chapter 2, A. Existence as Such (di Giovanni: pp. 83-90).
Houlgate, Stephen, The Opening of Hegel’s ‘Logic’: From Being to Infinity (West Lafayette, IN.: Purdue University Press, 2006), pp. 297-311
Monday, 10th March, 2014, 4pm
Becoming, sublation, and existence.
Reading: Section I, Chapter I (2, 3, and remark) and Chapter 2 (up to and incl. c. Finitude) (di Giovanni: pp. 80-101)
Monday, 3rd March, 2014, 4pm
Being, nothing, and their unity in becoming
Reading: Section I introductory remark, Chapter I: Being (di Giovanni: pp. 58-82)
Monday, 24th February, 2014, 4pm
On the beginning of the Logic, mediation, and immediacy
Reading: Science of Logic, ‘With What Must the Beginning of Science Be Made?’ and ‘General Division of Being’, pp. 45-57.
Inwood, Michael J., A Hegel Dictionary (Oxford: Blackwell, 1992), ‘Mediation and Immediacy’, pp. 183-186.
Monday, 17th February, 2014, 4pm
On the general conception of Hegel’s logic
Reading: Hegel, G. W. F., Lectures on Logic: Berlin 1931, Clark Butler (trans.) (Bloomington, IN.: Indiana University Press, 2001), Introduction, pp. 1-19
Monday, 10th February, 2014, 4pm
The Introduction to the Logic and its Division
Reading: Introduction, General Division of the Logic
Monday, 3rd February, 2014, TIME/PLACE CHANGE
3pm, ‘Graduate Hub’, Basement of the South Wing of the Main Campus (see ‘News’ page for more information)
The Prefaces.
Reading: Preface to the First Edition, Preface to the Second Edition
Monday, 27th January, 2014, 4pm
Methodology and introduction.
Reading: None
Hegel's 'Science of Logic' @ UCL 