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Hegel and Greek Tragedy

Martin Thibodeau

This study is concerned with the different interpretations of Greek tragedy proposed by G.W.F. Hegel. While Hegel’s philosophical interest in tragedy as an art form is well known, the motivation for his preoccupation with this art form needs to be further explored. Indeed, why would Hegel, a pivotal figure of German idealism, be inclined to concern himself with a form of poetry that reached its peak in the 5^th century B.C.? Precisely this question forms the core of this book. It articulates what the primary stakes are and thereby develop and defend the thesis that Hegel’s examination of Greece and tragedy is one that has a direct bearing on the “fate” of politics in the modern world.

Lexington Books

Pages: 220 • Trim: 6⅜ x 9⅜

978-0-7391-7729-7 • Hardback • December 2012 • $114.00 • (£88.00)

978-0-7391-7730-3 • eBook • December 2012 • $108.00 • (£83.00)

Subjects: Philosophy / History & Surveys / Ancient & Classical, Philosophy / Movements / Idealism, Philosophy / Continental Philosophy

Hegel and Greek Tragedy

Hardback

eBook

Summary

This study is concerned with the different interpretations of Greek tragedy proposed by G.W.F. Hegel. While Hegel’s philosophical interest in tragedy as an art form is well known, the motivation for his preoccupation with this art form needs to be further explored. Indeed, why would Hegel, a pivotal figure of German idealism, be inclined to concern himself with a form of poetry that reached its peak in the 5^th century B.C.? Precisely this question forms the core of this book. It articulates what the primary stakes are and thereby develop and defend the thesis that Hegel’s examination of Greece and tragedy is one that has a direct bearing on the “fate” of politics in the modern world.

Details

Lexington Books

Pages: 220 • Trim: 6⅜ x 9⅜

978-0-7391-7729-7 • Hardback • December 2012 • $114.00 • (£88.00)

978-0-7391-7730-3 • eBook • December 2012 • $108.00 • (£83.00)

Subjects: Philosophy / History & Surveys / Ancient & Classical, Philosophy / Movements / Idealism, Philosophy / Continental Philosophy

Author

Martin Thibodeau teaches in the department of philosophy at St. Paul University (Ottawa, Canada). He specializes in 19^th and 20^th century German Philosophy form Kant to Adorno. His publications include La Théorie Esthétique d’Adorno: Une Introduction (Presses Universitaires de Rennes, France, 2008).

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: The Spirit of Christianity and Its Fate: Law, Love, and Tragic Fate
1.1: The Spirit of Judaism and the great tragedy of the Jewish People
1.2: Christianity and the Failure of the Theology of Love
1.3: Tragedy and the Reconciliation of Fate
Chapter 2: The Essay on Natural Law: “Tragedy in Ethical Life” (Die Tragodie Im Sittlichen)
2.1: The Naturrechtsaufsatz and the Critique of Practical Understanding: The Empiricist and Formalist Theories of Natural Law
2.2: The Speculative Conception of Politics and the Tragic Process of Absolute Ethical Life
Chapter 3: The Phenomenology of Spirit: The Science of the Experience of Consciousness and Greek Tragedy
3.1: Introduction: The Project of the Phenomenology of Spirit and Tragedy
3.2: The Ethical World (die sittliche Welt): Tragedy, Antigone and the Break-up of the Greek Polis
3.3: The “Religion of Art” (Die Kunstreligion): Tragic Poetry and the Fate of the Gods
Chapter 4: The Lectures of Fine Art: The “Death of Art” and Greek Tragedy
4.1: The System of the Encyclopedia, Absolute Spirit and Art
4.2: Dramatic Poetry: Tragedy, Reconciliation and the Dissolution of Beautiful Art
Conclusion

Reviews

A concern with Greek tragedy saturates Hegel's thought from its youthful inception to its grand culminations. Quietly, yet relentlessly the themes, structures, and movements of this art form informs and shapes the heart of the Hegelian system. Martin Thibodeau's book ably traces the significance of tragedy for any understanding of Hegel.

— Dennis J. Schmidt, Pennsylvania State University

Hegel and Greek Tragedy

Martin Thibodeau

Hegel and Greek Tragedy

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