Yichao Li

This article argues that the expression “Master-Slave Dialectic” is misleading when measured against both Hegel’s own concept of dialectic and a rigorous textual reconstruction of the relevant section of the Phenomenology of Spirit. Master and slave do not stand in a genuinely dialectical relation, since their asymmetrical recognition does not issue in a reciprocal transition of each into the other. What emerges instead is an antinomic structure of desire and self-relation, in which each side is divided between “freedom” (soul) and “life” (body). On this basis, the article proposes replacing the standard formula of a “Master-Slave Dialectic” with that of a “Soul-Body Dialectic.” This dialectic, however, is only weakly antinomic: it leads neither to an inversion of the positions of master and slave nor to the dissolution of their relation. Rather, under the conditions of the “state of nature,” the master-slave relation appears as a relatively stable configuration. Within this configuration, the spiritual world, the self-conscious structure constituted by master and slave, and the natural world together form a kind of structural coupling, mediated by an indirect relation of reflection. The cultivation of slave consciousness and the physiological coexistence of human beings, both of which prepare the historical development of freedom, thus express the teleological determination that world-reason inscribes within slavery as a moment of world history.

Hegel discussed the category of force in the chapter of “Force and the Understanding” in his Phenomenology of Spirit as well as the chapter of “Relation of Force and Its Expression” in the Science of logic, reflecting the concept of force on physics and, furthermore, a direct, close relationship with the Newtonian mechanics. Examining the essential connection between Hegel’s force category and Newtonian mechanics, this article demonstrates, firstly, the reflective definiteness of force in Newtonian mechanics, secondly, Newton’s universal gravitation and Hegel’s critique about the imperfection of reflective thought, finally, the real definiteness of force in Hegelian intelligent intuition.

The “inert realm of laws” in the chapter “Force and the Understanding” of Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit is a static “supersensible world.” This article argues that the “essential relation” section of the Doctrine of Essence in the Science of Logic can be understood as the logical construction of the Understanding’s step-by-step experience of this static “supersensible world.” First, the Understanding arrives at its experience of “force” in “matter” through the relation of whole and parts. Second, it goes beyond the “expression of force” and reflects itself into the “concept of force as concept” through the relation of force and its expression. Finally, it inserts “reflection-for-itself” into “substance-in-itself” and experiences the emergence of the static “supersensible world” through the Absolute’s “reception” of “image” in the relation of outer and inner, namely the Absolute.

Hegel’s concept of the Inverted World, as expounded in the chapter titled 'Force and Understanding' in his seminal work, the Phenomenology of Spirit, stands as a momentous yet enigmatic element in the realm of Hegelian scholarship. Contemporary scholars, such as Hans Georg Gadamer, have largely approached this chapter from a comparative perspective, drawing upon theories rooted in the history of philosophy and culture. However, they have often fallen short of comprehending its underlying systematic framework. In contrast, this article delves into the original isomorphic context within Hegel’s systematic philosophy, painstakingly tracing the Inverted World to its precise logical foundation and its connection to pertinent elements within the annals of knowledge history. The article begins by elucidating the phases and norms that culminate in the emergence of the Inverted World. It proceeds to draw parallels between the Inverted World and the concept of logical Reciprocity, as well as the laws of electromagnetic and chemical reciprocity found within Hegel’s Philosophy of Nature. It posits that the inverted world, together with its logical foundation and physical premises, collectively unveils the ultimate principle of the ‘Concept’.

Dieter Henrich’s emphasis on the via negationis offers a compelling interpretation of Being and Nothing in the Hegelian logical beginning, but it does not account for the inner necessity driving their development into Becoming. Drawing on Hegel’s retrospective justification of Being, this paper argues that the self-dialectic of mediation functions as the metalogic underlying Hegel’s logical beginning. First, by analyzing the self-dialectical operation of mediation, it demonstrates the internal necessity that underlies Hegel’s approach via negationis. Second, it proposes that Being and Nothing can be understood as the “im-mediate” poles generated by a contracting motion. Third, in the extreme intensity between Being and Nothing, it contends that Becoming emerges as the neutralization of polarization. Finally, this paper analyzes Hegel’s critique of the law of excluded middle by constructing a thought experiment to reveal the empirical truth of mediation and its self-dialectical operation.