Hegel's Heroic Endeavor

In his book Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature, Richard Rorty appears to make a move that is reminiscent of G.W.F. Hegel in order to rid philosophy of its problems with mind/body duality. Although Rorty will not agree with Hegel in affirming Kantian values, it is interesting that even in the 21st century, philosophers are still struggling with Kantian notions of conditions for experience and what necessary conceptions we must hold in order to validate experience. I believe that Rorty echoes what Hegel sees as a flaw in trying to articulate what the mind must be capable of in order to understand experience: it creates the problem of an infinite regress of faculties. The regress occurs because one could presume that he has the faculty to judge what his mind does and does not process, and how well it does that. At the same time, one could also justifiably say/ or create other faculties that could judge how well the previous faculty assesses the other faculty, and so forth and so on. While Rorty will largely condemn longings to solve epistemic questions as a way to keep philosophers in “business,” I still have interest in the literature involving epistemic acquisition, and hope to find some comfort in Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit. Hegel himself calls the exercise “therapeutic,” so I am hoping that solace is found by examining consciousness, and how it could possibly overcome its deficiencies to see the world as rational. While working through the Mirror of Nature, as discouraging as it might be, it so far has only affirmed to me the significance of epistemology and how it continues to baffle philosophers even to this day. Hegel’s endeavor is ambitious, but taking a stab at truth is much more heroic than dismissing it altogether like Rorty, so I am rooting for Hegel to prove something in his scientific philosophy.

I find it interesting, and refreshing that Hegel seeks to just dive right what we experience and leave out pre-existing conditions for the ability to do such. The idea of consciousness’s constant renewal and despair is intriguing, especially how the language has influenced existential philosophers that borrowed Hegel’s language of subjects and objects (as well as despair in general). I would particular like to see if Hegel will delve into ethical considerations in the PS, as it can be thorny creating an ethical system that suggests the world itself as the ultimate rationality, like utilitarians (which I do not side with).