Article ID: CBB001221596

Hegel's Notion of Natural Purpose (2012)

unapi

Michelini, Francesca (Author)


Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences
Volume: 43
Pages: 133--139


Publication Date: 2012
Edition Details: Part of a special section: “On Nature and Normativity: Normativity, Teleology, and Mechanism in Biological Explanation”
Language: English

This paper argues that the notion of natural purpose developed by Hegel can only be thoroughly grasped by considering its intimate connection with the idea of contradiction and, particularly, with what Hegel in his philosophy of nature called the `activity of deficiency'. This expression is used by Hegel to denote the ontological situation of every living being, which is embodied most authentically in the concepts of need and drive. For Hegel, life itself is imbued with contradiction because it is inextricably bound up with what it lacks: its identity is at one with its negation. This paper defends the thesis that Hegel's philosophy---and not just his philosophy of nature---can be characterized as an `ontology of life' (to use the same expression that Martin Heidegger applied to Aristotle's De Anima), or more precisely, as an ontology of living individuality.

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Article Moss, Lenny; Nicholson, Daniel J. (2012) On Nature and Normativity: Normativity, Teleology, and Mechanism in Biological Explanation. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part C: Studies in History and Philosophy of Biological and Biomedical Sciences (p. 88). unapi

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Authors & Contributors
Beekman, Wim
Borgo, Stefano
Jochemsen, Henk
Giaretta, Pierdaniele
Toni, Roberto
Suárez, Javier
Concepts
Biology
Philosophy of biology
Teleology
Individuality
Philosophy
Development; growth; life; death
Time Periods
18th century
19th century
21st century
Enlightenment
20th century
17th century
Places
Germany
Europe
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