Hegel's Theory of Responsibility

A crucial aspect of Hegel's practical philosophy is his theory of responsibility. This theory is both original and radical in its emphasis on the role and importance of social and historical conditions as a context for our actions. But even those who agree that there is something valuable in Hegel's emphasis on sociality are not in agreement about what that something is or about how Hegel argues for it. Mark Alznauer offers the first book-length account of the structure of the theory and its place within Hegel's thought as a whole. The reader is carefully walked through the psychological, social and historical aspects of responsibility in Hegel's texts. The book demonstrates that attention to the concept of responsibility reveals the true nature of Hegel's controversial claims about the inherent sociality of human action.

Introduction; 1. The actualization of the will; 2. Responsibility and innocence; 3. Action and the spheres of right; 4. The inner-outer thesis; 5. Transcending responsibility.

Mark Alznauer is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Northwestern University, Illinois.