Hegel on Self-Consciousness: Desire and Death in the Phenomenology of Spirit

Description

In the most influential chapter of his most important philosophical work, the Phenomenology of Spirit, Hegel makes the central and disarming assertions that "self-consciousness is desire itself" and that it attains its "satisfaction" only in another self-consciousness. Hegel on Self-Consciousness presents a groundbreaking new interpretation of thes

Robert B. Pippin is the Evelyn Stefansson Nef Distinguished Service Professor in the John U. Nef Committee on Social Thought and in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Chicago. His books include Hegel's Practical Philosophy: Rational Agency as Ethical Life and Henry James and Modern Moral Life.

"Pippin, one of the finest contemporary scholars on Kant and post-Kantian German idealism, presents here two essays that focus on two of Hegel's claims--that self-consciousness is desire itself, and that it finds its satisfaction only in others... Pippin's essays provide a skillful interpretation of one of the most important parts of Hegel's corpus, and illuminate Phenomenology of Spirit as well as historical and contemporary interpretations of Hegel's account of self-consciousness."--Choice "This book should appeal to readers interested in the Phenomenology of Spirit, especially graduate students and researches who wish to understand the contemporary significance of Hegel's account of self-consciousness for McDowell and Brandom. Pippin has provided a lucid reading of these very dense passages. Regardless of whether one agrees with Pippin's reading, it will prove difficult for Hegel scholars to ignore."--Corey McCall, Philosophy in Review "Pippin's overall interpretation is clear, insightful, and an important contribution to both Hegel scholarship and philosophical understandings of self-consciousness in general. It will be an important book for those interested in Hegel or self-consciousness."--Joseph Arel, European Legacy