May 8, 2008
It is well known that Hegel’s dialectic arises out of the need to propose a different logic than traditional Verstandeslogik because such logic cannot ‘see’ or grasp conflict, contradiction, and hence historical change. And since these are fundamental features of the modern world, understanding is incapable of giving an account of the dimension of the Gegenwart—the historical present or actuality of the world. Thus, if philosophy’s task is indeed the comprehension of the Gegenwart, that is, the translation of its own time in living thoughts philosophy becomes impossible under the premises of traditional logic.
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