History and Memory in the Phenomenology of Spirit

Abstract

The first chapter of this study is dedicated to the connection between memory and history in the Phenomenology of Spirit, that is, in the early work at the time of which the later structure of the philosophical system is not yet in place. In developing this topic, I propose a reading of Hegel’s 1807 work as itself a “work of (philosophical) memory.” I shall proceed by analyzing the turning points of the Phenomenology in which the problem of history is channeled into the phenomenological development in a way that forces Hegel to re-think the entire structure of the process. I discuss, in turn, the preface to the entire work, the chapter (BB) Der Geist, the chapter (CC) Die Religion, and the conclusion of (DD) Das absolute Wissen. In all these turning points Hegel re-organizes the phenomenological process according to radically new criteria so that the entire course and plan of the book take on a different shape. I argue that these radical changes are produced by the intervention of (phenomenological) Erinnerung and by the interaction between memory and the issues posed by the concept of history The crucial question here regards the transformation of the phenomenological movement — the logical, diachronic succession of consciousness’s experiences — into a historical sequence. What is required, on the philosophical, conceptual, and systematic level, in order to stage a movement as specifically historical? What is history and who/what is its subject?