Abstract
Hegel begins his Philosophy of Mind (Spirit) by citing the Delphic inscription Know Thyself.1 As oracles are wont to do, however, this terse injunction raises questions about its own meaning. To whom is it addressed, and by whom? It is of course directed to the ancient Greeks by their god, the Delphic Apollo. Does it tell the Greek to know himself as simply the particular individual that he is? Is he to know himself as a Greek? as a mortal and not a god? as a man in general?
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References
Frederick G. Weiss, Hegel’s Critique of Aristotle’s Philosophy of Mind (Martinus Nijhoff, the Hague, 1969).
Jean Hyppolite, Genèse et structure de la Phénoménologie de Vesprit de Hegel 2 vols. (Paris, 1946), vol. 1, p. 11.
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© 1972 Martinus Nijhoff, The Hague, Netherlands
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Greene, M. (1972). Know Thyself as Spirit. In: Hegel on the Soul. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-2828-8_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-2828-8_1
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