#46: Rhythms of Nature & Love: Hegel's Concept of Life with philosopher Karen Ng

Send a love message Logic, Self-consciousness, and the continuity of mind and life: This episode is with Karen Ng, author of Hegel's Concept of Life, and an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University. Andrea and Karen discuss Hegel's concept of life, self-consciousness, and the problem of contradiction, emphasizing how life and love are fundamental to understanding his ideas. The episode moves through Kant's influence on Hegel, internal and external purposiveness, and how these philosophical concepts relate to our modern understanding of the mind, nature, and meaning. Karen shares her journey and insights on making Hegel’s complex ideas accessible and relevant to contemporary issues.Philosopher Karen NgHegel's Concept of Life00:00 Hegel's Contradictory Philosophy00:31 The Concept of Life and Self-Consciousness02:48 Karen Ng's Insights on Hegel09:48 Understanding Hegel's Rationalism17:57 Kant's Influence and the Copernican Turn25:11 Mechanism vs. Teleology in Philosophy29:57 Internal vs. External Purposiveness37:08 Life as Process and Meaning40:34 Hegel's Radical Thought on Intelligibility and Life41:44 The Connection Between Life and Meaning42:25 Hegel's Perspective on Self-Consciousness and Life44:14 The Role of Logic and Life in Hegel's Philosophy49:46 Hegel's Critique of Cartesian Dualism51:31 The Speculative Identity Thesis and Cognition53:36 Modern Philosophical Challenges and Hegel's Relevance54:26 Hegel's Influence and Contemporary Philosophers01:01:28 The Journey of Writing a Book on Hegel01:09:05 Hegel's Concept of Love and Life01:14:46 Concluding Thoughts on Hegel's Philosophy Karen Ng at Vanderbilt University“True union, or love proper, exists only between living beings who are alike in power and thus in one another’s eyes living beings from every point of view; in no respect is either dead for the other.”“… love is a sensing of something living …”These Hegel quotes that Karen mentions are from the fragment on love, published in Early Theological Writings, trans. T.M. Knox, UPenn Press, 1975. The passages are on pages 304 and 305. And the German can be found in volume 1 of the Suhrkamp edition of Hegel’s Werke.Support the showBuy Holding Paradox: The Navigational Approach to Mind and Consciousness by Andrea HiottSign up for Making Ways newsletter and projects.Please rate and review with love. YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Substack.