Logique et existence (Epiméthée)

by Jean Hyppolite

Avec la traduction de la Phénoménologie de l’Esprit (parue en 1939 et 1941), puis son commentaire (Genèse et structure de la phénoménologie de Hegel en 1947), Logique et existence achevait, en 1961, le triptyque où Jean Hyppolite a concentré l’essentiel de ses études hégéliennes. Ainsi s’accomplissait un travail philosophiquement et historiquement déterminant. Philosophiquement déterminant : la rationalité peut se concilier avec l’histoire sur un mode absolument nouveau, propre à Hegel, mais qu’Hyppolite relit, à la lumière aussi de Heidegger et de Husserl, comme un rapport de la logique et de l’existence, réunies en l’homme : « Par cette liberté [...], l’homme ne se conquiert pas lui-même comme homme, mais devient la demeure de l’universel, du Logos de l’Être, et devient capable de la Vérité. Dans cette ouverture qui permet aux existants de la Nature, et à l’Histoire elle-même, de s’éclairer, de se concevoir, l’Être se comprend comme cet engendrement éternel de soi-même ; c’est la Logique au sens de Hegel, le savoir absolu. L’homme alors existe comme l’être-là naturel en qui apparaît la conscience de soi universelle de l’être. Il est la trace de cette conscience de soi, mais une trace indispensable sans laquelle elle ne serait pas. Logique et existence se joignent ici, si l’Existence est cette liberté de l’homme qui est l’universel, la lumière du sens. Historiquement aussi, Jean Hyppolite exerça un rôle déterminant : jusqu’à sa mort, en 1968, il fut en effet, pour plusieurs générations d’étudiants, l’introducteur par excellence à Hegel ; il fut, comme professeur de khâgne, puis d’Université, comme directeur de l’École normale et, enfin, au Collège de France, l’incitateur, le soutien et le responsable d’innombrables thèses et travaux, parmi lesquels on compte certains des livres les plus significatifs de la philosophie française d’aujourd’hui (que l’on songe aux auteurs de L’hommage à Jean Hyppolite, paru en 1971). Il fut enfin le fondateur de la collection « Épiméthée », qu’il dirigea jusqu’à la fin.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Logic

251 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1952

About the author

Jean Hyppolite was a French philosopher known for championing the work of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, and other German philosophers, and educating some of France's most prominent post-war thinkers. His major works include Genesis and Structure of Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit and Studies on Marx and Hegel.

Reviews

[Josh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was responsible for bringing Hegel to the French philosophical community, influencing Deleuze, Derrida and Foucault.

It is a book on the relation of Hegel's phenomenology with his Logic, a notoriously obscure and dense area. He argues against humanistic interpretations of Hegel, that absolute Knowledge is not a human reflection, but a reflection of the Absolute in man.

Hyppolite writes on Hegelian philosophy of language, logic and the categories of the Absolute. He also discusses Feuerbach and Marx in the conclusion to the work.

Dense, although illuminating in its explication of extremely difficult Hegelian concepts.

A useful and rewarding read.

[Corbin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not much more helpful than reading Hegel's Lesser Logic. Hyppolite repeats Hegelian formulations in a way that seems to present an argument, but the inferences are neither intuitive nor demonstrated. Often I found myself asking, "But why?" If you like Hegel's dialectical logic, then this will seem like a very concise summary; if you find his logic impenetrable or counterintuitive, Hyppolite does little to help one understand.

[Jesse · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bold, if at times inscrutable, defense of Hegel's Science of Logic against Kojeve's "humanistic" interpretation of Hegel that over-emphasized the Phenomenology of Spirit. Hyppolite seems blissfully unaware that his privileging of Sense (Meaning) as taking place in Logos (Language) it itself a form of humanism. I expect that Derrida's critique of (phal)logocentrism is a reaction to this attempt to privilege Language against Nature, Sense against Non-Sense (with the phallo- coming from Lacan's Freudian version of logocentrism).

Concludes with a critique of the humanistic elements in Marx's 1844 manuscripts, which had only been published in German in 1933 - it seems plausible to me that this is one of the first interpretations of these manuscripts in French, setting the stage for Althusser's rejection of early Marx's humanism.

[amgds · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great secondary text on Hegel although Hyppolite often rushes ahead of himself and fails to argue for his points (although it might be assumed that the audience has already read Structure and Genesis).

The 'anti-humanist' reading of Hegel is a fascinating notion. Would be of great historical interest to compare this to the subsequent development of 'anti-humanist' structuralism in France. From my limited understanding of Negarestani's work I can hear echoes of Hyppolite in his interpretation of Hegel through the notion 'impersonal sapience.'

Lost a star for being too dense (there is no excuse for poorly written secondary texts on German Idealism any more) but I read this in English so it might be partly the translator's fault.

[Caroline Loftus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty insightful and influential book about Hegel. Its style and organization are atrocious sometimes though….

[William Zeng · Rating 3 out of 5]

that was a lot of hegel