The Self-Critical Activity of Consciousness

Abstract

Hegel sketches the self-critical activity of consciousness’ cognitive efforts in four paragraphs. The first of these (¶13) discusses consciousness’ self-critical revision of its conceptions in general; the latter three (¶¶14–16) focus on particular aspects of this process. (In Miller, these are designated ¶¶86–88.) Paragraph 13 seems at first to be clear enough, but a closer look reveals that it is as obscure as the other three tortuous paragraphs. The task of this chapter is to disentangle and reconstruct Hegel’s claims in these paragraphs in light of the problems and doctrines discussed in Chapters Six and Seven. First, further evidence will be given for the eight-fold distinction of elements of consciousness as a cognitive relation to the world discussed in the previous chapter. Second, it will be shown how the criterial inference based on the distinction of these eight elements grounds a form of consciousness’ critical revision of its conceptions of knowledge and of the world.