Concluding System

Hegel (refined by Werckmeister)

A system of three syllogisms in which each of the three moments of the concept (A, B, E) occupies the mediating middle term (the B-position) exactly once. This structure (S-P-U, U-S-P, P-U-S) represents the complete mediation and self-preservation of a system. Developed formally in Ch. 12, applied to the forms of objectivity (mechanism, chemism, teleology) in Ch. 17, and applied to life in Ch. 19.4.

Origin

Hegel develops this in the Encyclopedia §198--199 and in the Science of Logic, Vol. 3. Examples: the solar system (sun--planets--moons), the state. In his 2008 dissertation *Hegels logische Kernstruktur* [Hegel's Logical Core Structure], Georg Werckmeister works out the structure clearly: not only the elements but also their position within the syllogism carries logical significance.

In Hegel

Enc. §187 (Addition), §198 (Addition); SL Vol. 2

Cross-references

Syllogism · A-B-E-Struktur · Mechanism · Organism · Solar System