PREVIEW-Episode 35: Hegel on Self-Consciousness

Summary: Discussing G.F.W. Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit (1807), Part B (aka Ch. 4), "Self-Consciousness," plus recapping the three chapters before that (Part A. "Consciousness").<br> This is a 30-minute preview of our vintage 1 hr, 28-minute episode which you can buy at <a href="http://partiallyexaminedlife.com/product/ep35-hegel/" target="_blank">partiallyexaminedlife.com/store</a> or <a href="http://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2011/04/02/ep35-hegel-citizen/" target="_blank">get for free</a> with PEL Citizenship (see <a href="http://partiallyexaminedlife.com/membership" target="_blank">partiallyexaminedlife.com/membership</a>). You can also purchase the full episode in the <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/episode-35-hegel-on-self-consciousness/id1044866796" target="_blank">iTunes Store</a>: Search for "Partially Hegel" and look under "Albums."<br> This is discussion one of two: here we only get as far as "The Truth of Self-Certainty," i.e. sections 166-177. This is plenty, though, as this may be the most difficult text in the history of philosophy.<br> We discuss Hegel's weird dialectical method and what it says about his metaphysics, in particular about ourselves: not static, pre-formed balls of self-interest, but something that needs to be actively formed through reflection, which in turn is only possible because of our interactions with other people. Featuring guest podcaster <a href="http://zuhanden.com" target="_blank">Tom McDonald</a>.<br> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0198245971?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=theparexalif-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=0198245971" target="_blank">Buy the book,</a> or you look at <a href="http://terrypinkard.weebly.com/phenomenology-of-spirit-page.html" target="_blank">this alternate translation by Terry Pinkard online</a>. I highly recommend having one of these open to read along, as the text is very hard to follow.<br> End song: "Ann(e)" by Mark Lint, written in late 1991 shortly after my exposure to this book and completed in 2010 <a href="http://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2010/02/12/partially-naked-self-examination-music-blog-week-7/" target="_blank">for the music blog</a>.<br>