The Unity of Identity and Difference as the Ontological Basis of Hegel's Social and Political Philosophy

In this dissertation I examine the ontological and systematic basis of Hegel's social and political philosophy. I argue that the structures of the will, discussed in paragraphs five through seven of the Philosophy of Right, present the key for understanding the goal and the argumentative structure of that work. Hegel characterizes the will in terms of the oppositions between the universal and the particular, the infinite and the finite, and the indeterminate and the determinate. Ultimately, he argues that we must grasp the will as the unity of these oppositional moments. The Philosophy of Right presents an extended attempt to grasp this unity.

In order to central problem presented by the structure of the will, I argue that we must first recognize the will as the highest instantiation of the more general structures that constitute the notion. On my interpretation, the term 'notion' designates Hegel's doctrine of substance. More specifically, this term presents his conception of substance in terms of categories normally associated with human subjectivity, in terms of representation and purposive action.

The will presents the highest or truest instantiation of the notion. Various notions can be ranked along a spectrum in accordance with their degree of success at resolving the basic problem facing all objects -- namely the problem of integrating or essentially relating identity and difference through self-constituting activity. The unification of identity and difference presents the central problem or paradox of Hegel's philosophy. It is a paradox that takes many forms. In this dissertation, I show how change, the structure of judgment, and the nature of the object all exhibit this paradox. I also show how Hegel's doctrine of the notion develops as a direct response to this paradox. Additionally, I argue that Hegel's account of the structure of the will -- as the unity of the universal and the particular, the unity of the infinite and the finite, and the unity of the indeterminate and the determinate -- presents the highest manifestation of the paradox that arises when we seek to explain the unity of identity and difference.