Hegel and Greek Tragedy

By (author) Martin Thibodeau

Publication date:

13 December 2012

Length of book:

220 pages

Publisher

Lexington Books

Dimensions:

238x162mm
6x9"

ISBN-13: 9780739177297

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 5th 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.

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

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.