Commentary on the Philosophy of Nature, Chapter 3
Hegel Himself on the Boundary
The distinction is not ours. In his lectures on nature, Hegel explicitly warns against carrying general determinations across spheres. On the attempt to subsume organic matter under chemism: “This has caused much confusion […] The organism is the constant struggle against the chemical — and is killed by the chemical.” And the rule: “If one seeks general determinations for things so heterogeneous, confusion results; each must be considered within its own sphere.”[1]
This is the sharpest formulation of the transfer problem to be found in Hegel — and it is directed against precisely the procedure he is accused of.
Lectures on the Philosophy of Nature, transcript by Ringier, lecture course 1819/20: GW 24.1. ↩︎