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Hegel contra Hegel: Eurocentrism, Colonialism, and Progress

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 March 2024

Erick Lima Open the ORCID record for Erick Lima [Opens in a new window]
Erick Lima*
Affiliation:
Universidade de Brasília, Brazil [email protected]
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Abstract

This study aims to investigate whether some of the Eurocentric and colonialist contents of Hegel's thought are open to criticism with elements of his own philosophy. First, I intend to show that some of these contents can be organized around the connection between ‘spirit’ and ‘progress’. I then construct an interpretation of Hegel's notion of spirit, based upon which I discuss its possibly pro-colonialist tendencies, arguing that disconnected from the philosophy of history it establishes a connection of autonomy and critique crucial even for anti-colonialist thought. Furthermore, following Adorno's criticism of Hegel, I investigate the possibility of finding in the ‘progress in the consciousness of freedom’ an experiential dimension capable of capturing its regressive moments. This analysis then leads to a discussion of colonization in the reconstruction of capitalist society presented in the Philosophy of Right, which reveals an important discrepancy, so I argue, concerning the Eurocentrism of the Philosophy of History. Finally, I propose a comparison of Hegel's discussion of colonization with Marx's theory of ‘primitive accumulation’, and evaluate thereby the pertinence of Hegel's connection between imperialism and the critique of capitalism.

Type
Research Article
Information
Hegel Bulletin , Volume 45 , Issue 2: Themed Issue: Racism and Colonialism in Hegel's Philosophy (Part 2) , August 2024 , pp. 237 - 264
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Hegel Society of Great Britain

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