Hegel’sElements of the Philosophy of Rightoffers an innovative and important account of normativity, yet the theory set forth there rests on philosophical foundations that have remained largely obscure. InHegel’s Theory of Normativity, Kevin Thompson proposes an interpretation of the foundations that underlie Hegel’s theory: its method of justification, its concept of freedom, and its account of right. Thompson shows how the systematic character of Hegel’s project together with the metaphysical commitments that follow from its method are essential to secure this theory against the challenges of skepticism and to understand its distinctive contribution to questions regarding normative justification, practical agency, social ontology, and the nature of critique.
Hegel’s Theory of Normativityoffers an interpretation and defense of the systematic foundations of Hegel’s account of right.
KEVIN THOMPSONis an associate professor of philosophy at DePaul University.
Abbreviations
Introduction
1. Method
2. Freedom
3. Right
Conclusion: Hegel's Critical Theory
Notes
Bibliography
Index
"Kevin Thompson’s book is a remarkably clear and precise contribution to Hegelian studies. The main aim of the text is to analyse Hegel’s philosophy of right in the light of its systematic framework, dwelling mostly on the paragraphs of the ‘Introduction’ to the
Elements of the Philosophy of the Rightand the pages of the 1817
Encyclopaediathat provide their systematic background. Even though this is an old problem, in recent years it has been treated only selectively; Thompson, by contrast, analyses the issue in a philologically meticulous and theoretically competent way, providing arguments with which future works onló*
![Hegels Theory of Normativity: The Systematic Foundations of the Philosophical Science of Right [Paperback]](/itemImage/2/7/8/4/2_5363384.jpg "Hegels Theory of Normativity: The Systematic Foundations of the Philosophical Science of Right [Paperback]")