Hegel, Literature, and the Problem of Agency PDF
Preview Hegel, Literature, and the Problem of Agency
This page intentionally left blank HEGEL, LITERATURE AND THE PROBLEM OF AGENCY Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirithas attracted much attention recently from philosophers, but none of the existing English-language books on the text addresses one of the most difficult questions the book raises: Why does the Phenomenology make such rich and provocative use of literary works and genres? Allen Speight’s bold contribution to the current debate on the work of Hegel argues that behind Hegel’s extraordinary appeal to literature in the Phenomenology lies a philosophical project concerned with under- standing human agency in the modern world. It shows that Hegel looked to three literary genres– tragedy, comedy, and the romantic novel– as of- fering privileged access to three moments of human agency: retrospec- tivity, or the fact that human action receives its full meaning only after the event; theatricality, or the fact that human action receives its full meaning only in a social context; and forgiveness, or the practice of re- assessing human action in the light of its essentially interpretive nature. Taking full account of the authors that Hegel himself refers to (Sopho- cles, Diderot, Schlegel, Jacobi), Allen Speight has written a book with a broad appeal to both philosophers and literary theorists that positions Hegel as a central figure in both the continental and Anglo-American philosophical traditions. Allen Speight is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Boston University. MODERN EUROPEAN PHILOSOPHY General Editor Robert B. Pippin, University of Chicago Advisory Board Gary Gutting, University of Notre Dame Rolf-Peter Horstmann, Humboldt University, Berlin Mark Sacks, University of Essex Some Recent Titles: Frederick A. Olafson:What Is a Human Being? Stanley Rosen:The Mask of Enlightenment: Nietzsche’s Zarathustra Robert C. Scharff: Comte after Positivism F. C. T. Moore: Bergson: Thinking Backwards Charles Larmore: The Morals of Modernity Robert B. Pippin: Idealism as Modernism Daniel W. Conway: Nietzsche’s Dangerous Game John P. McCormick: Carl Schmitt’s Critique of Liberalism Frederick A. Olafson: Heidegger and the Ground of Ethics Günter Zöller: Fichte’s Transcendental Philosophy Warren Breckman: Marx, the Young Hegelians, and the Origins of Social Theory William Blattner: Heidegger’s Temporal Idealism Charles Griswold:Adam Smith and the Virtues of the Enlightenment Gary Gutting: Pragmatic Liberalism and the Critique of Modernity Allen Wood: Kant’s Ethical Thought Karl Ameriks: Kant and the Fate of Autonomy Alfredo Ferrarin: Hegel and Aristotle Cristina Lafont: Heidegger, Language and World-Discourse Nicholas Wolterstorff: Thomas Reid and the Story of Epistemology Daniel Dahlstrom: Heidegger’s Concept of Truth Michelle Grier: Kant’s Doctrine of Transcendental Illusion Henry Allison: Kant’s Theory of Taste HEGEL, LITERATURE AND THE PROBLEM OF AGENCY ALLEN SPEIGHT Boston University The Pitt Building, Trumpington Street, Cambridge, United Kingdom The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 2RU, UK 40 West 20th Street, New York, NY 10011-4211, USA 477 Williamstown Road, Port Melbourne, VIC 3207, Australia Ruiz de Alarcón 13, 28014 Madrid, Spain Dock House, The Waterfront, Cape Town 8001, South Africa http://www.cambridge.org ©Allen Speight 2004 First published in printed format 2001 ISBN 0-511-03164-5 eBook (Adobe Reader) ISBN 0-521-79184-7 hardback ISBN 0-521-79634-2 paperback To My Father
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