Abstract

The Phenomenology of the Spirit depicts a philosophical path to absolute knowledge, which is intrinsically characterized by the paramount function of negation. Nevertheless, the notion of negation is not to be understood as a radically destructive modality. First, Hegel insists on the aspect that the negation which is meant is a determinate negation, i.e. a negation which concerns limits and partial contents. Second, if all the different forms of consciousness were simply negative and defective, then all the results of human knowledge would be only the narration of a perpetual failure, which could not adduce any valid arguments for the possibility to attain a positive form of knowledge. Rather, the original project of the Phenomenology suggests that negation has a heuristic and truth-discovering function.Following these remarks, the primary task consists of the analysis of the meaning attached to the determinate negation and its function in the Phenomenology. Then, negation is inquired in relation to the general methodological procedure as well as to the function ascribed to the fundamental stages of consciousness. Finally, the question raised is whether and how the use of negation allows for the discovery of some specific contents which are then integrated into the logical structures and the philosophical system.