Hegel in Contemporary Political Philosophy (chapter from Transcending Subjects)

The contemporary return to Hegel is dominated by two seemingly opposed expressions: one in the form of social self‐legislating practices resulting in inter‐subjective recognition, the other in the form of radical subjectivity persisting within the failure of the social reconciliation. The former focuses on the evolution of social normativity, and the latter on the revolution of radical subjectivity. The “normative Hegel” is best represented in the work of Robert Pippin; the “radical Hegel” by Slavoj Žižek. Interpreting the work of these two will orient us within the landscape of contemporary Hegelian studies and prepare for entrance into Hegel’s philosophical system.