Although Hegel fails to mention it in his section, “Lordship and Bondage,” I think confidence is a term that is essential to the system he lays out. However, in order for me to explain its relevance, I need to first sketch an outline of this system:
In a section we skipped over, Hegel explains the manner in which consciousness shifts its focus inward from objects in the world to itself. As I understand it, consciousness becomes anxious about its individuality. It worries that it isn’t any different than all the objects it sees (that it is just another object rather than a subject.)
This desire to be recognized as a subject, or something apart from the objects around it, becomes consciousness’ motivation. At first, this motivation leads it to negate the world around it, and, strangely, Hegel seems to think negation is akin to destruction. Unfortunately, after this destruction, there is nothing left for consciousness to impose its will on. Thus the process of destroying other objects in order to prove its individuality ultimately fails.
As a result of this failure, consciousness realizes that the only substantial way to be recognized as a subject—as something different from the world of objects—is by being acknowledged by some other consciousness. Thus it begins to seek other consciousnesses. When it finally does meet another, the only way recognition can be achieved is if each consciousness puts its life on the line. Hegel explains that by risking its life, each consciousness proves “that it is not attached to any specific existence…that it is not attached to life” (113). In other words, in being unafraid of having its life taken away, a consciousness is demonstrating that it is something more than the object that is its body; namely, it is a subject. (It is important to note that in a fight to the death, it is this object—the one serving as a body—that would be destroyed.)
In my opinion, this life and death struggle for recognition—which seems to be an essential step in Hegel’s system—presupposes confidence. Each participant in the struggle must be confidant that it actually does have some existence that is separate and independent from its body. If a consciousness lacks this confidence, then it seems it would be unwilling to put the life of its body on the line. If this where to happen, it is unclear how the two consciousnesses would interact. Likely, the unconfident one would simply forfeit to the confidant one and willingly become a slave. However, in this case, it is unlikely that the enslaved consciousness would ever have a chance of being free, because one of the essential ingredients of freedom, for Hegel, seems to be this risking of one’s life. (Recall that in Hegel’s system, the enslaved consciousness ultimately becomes freer than the master.)
If one consciousness lacked the confidence to sacrifice it's body then wouldn't that consciousness simply be a slave? The slave, if unwilling to sacrifice it's body in order to become free, would always remain a slave. According to Hegel one can always escape enslavement by sacrificing one's body - committing suicide. So it seems that confidence is not only that am I more than just my body but also that I am both my body and my consciousness (I am both a subject and an object).
ReplyDeleteMaybe I'm misunderstanding things here, but it is my inclination to think that confidence for Hegel, would be confidence in consciousnesses achievements and frustrations thus far, which would lead to the master-slave dialectic he describes.
I agree, but my point is that if a consciousness became a slave simply by default (because he lacked the confidence in his existence as something more than a body) then he would be a different kind of slave than the one Hegel describes. Hegel's slave, if I read correctly, is one that did, at one point have that confidence but basically had it beaten out of him in the battle.
ReplyDeleteHegel's slave ultimately has the ability to become more independent than the master. However, the fact that he once put his life on the line (before becoming submissive) seems to be a precondition for his potential freedom. The slave that lacks confidence, on the other hand, never engaged in this battle. He simply forfeited and thus may not ever be eligible for independence.