“Hegel, Spinoza and the Future of Critical Philosophy”
Stephen Houlgate (University of Warwick)
“In this lecture, I will consider the different ways in which Kant and Hegel understand what it means to think critically about our most fundamental categories – those we take for granted more than any others. I will do so by examining Hegel’s critique of Kant, but also by examining the different ways in which both thinkers criticise one of their most important predecessors: Spinoza. This is not an arbitrary choice. Kant understands his “critique of pure reason” to put an end to the naively “metaphysical” philosophizing of Spinoza. By contrast, Hegel believes that to be thoroughly critical one must embrace a new, post-Kantian “Spinozism”. By examining the relation of Kant and Hegel to Spinoza, therefore, we can see more clearly what each of them means by “critique” (and so, perhaps, what “critique” might mean for us).”
Cosponsored by University Lectures Fund, Goldberg Center, Department of History, Department of Philosophy, Borghesi Mellon Workshop for Hegel and Social Theory