第 13 节
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匆匆 更新:2021-02-27 02:11 字数:9322
determinations; either because the mother tongue has no words for them or if it has; as here;
because its expression calls to mind more what is immediate; whereas the foreign language
suggests more what is reflected。
The more precise meaning and expression which being and nothing receive; now that they are
moments; is to be ascertained from the consideration of determinate being as the unity in which
they are preserved。 Being is being; and nothing is nothing; only in their contradistinction from each
other; but in their truth; in their unity; they have vanished as these determinations and are now
something else。 Being and nothing are the same; but just because they are the same they are no
longer being and nothing; but now have a different significance。 In becoming they were
coming…to…be and ceasing…to…be; in determinate being; a differently determined unity; they are
again differently determined moments。 This unity now remains their base from which they do not
again emerge in the abstract significance of being and nothing。
Chapter 2 Determinate Being
In considering determinate being the emphasis falls on its determinate character; the
determinateness is in the form of being; and as such it is quality。 Through its quality; something is
determined as opposed to an other; as alterable and finite; and as negatively determined not
only against an other but also in its own self。 This its negation as at first opposed to the finite
something is the infinite; the abstract opposition in which these determinations appear resolves
itself into the infinity which is free from the opposition; into being…for…self。
The treatment of determinate being falls therefore into three parts:
A。 Determinate being as such
B。 Something and other; finitude
C。 Qualitative infinity。
A Determinate Being as Such
(a) Determinate Being in General
(b) Quality
(c) Something
B Finitude
(a) Something and Other
(b) Determination; Constitution and Limit
(c) Finitude
'a' The Immediacy of Finitude
'b' Limitation and the Ought
Remark: The Ought
The ought has recently played a great part in philosophy; especially in connection with morality
and also in metaphysics generally; as the ultimate and absolute concept of the identity of the
in…itself or self…relation; and of the determinateness or limit。
'You can; because you ought' … this expression; which is supposed to mean a great deal; is implied
in the notion of ought。 For the ought implies that one is superior to the limitation; in it the limit is
sublated and the in…itself of the ought is thus an identical self…relation; and hence the abstraction of
'can'。 But conversely; it is equally correct that: 'you cannot; just because you ought。' For in the
ought; the limitation as limitation is equally implied; the said formalism of possibility has; in the
limitation; a reality; a qualitative otherness opposed to it and the relation of each to the other is a
contradiction; and thus a 'cannot'; or rather an impossibility。
In the Ought the transcendence of finitude; that is; infinity; begins。 The ought is that which; in the
further development; exhibits itself in accordance with the said impossibility as the infinity。
With respect to the form of the limitation and the ought; two prejudices can be criticised in more
detail。 First of all; great stress is laid on the limitations of thought; of reason; and so on; and it is
asserted that the limitation cannot be transcended。 To make such as assertion is to be unaware
that the very fact that something is determined as a limitation implies that the limitation is already
transcended。 For a determinateness; a limit; is determined as a limitation only in opposition to its
other in general; that is; in opposition to that which is free from the limitation; the other of a
limitation is precisely the being beyond it。 Stone and metal do not transcend their limitation
because this is not a limitation for them。 If; however; in the case of such general propositions
framed by the understanding; such as that limitation cannot be transcended; thought will not apply
itself to finding out what is implied in the Notion; then it can be directed to the world of actuality
where such proportions show themselves to be completely unreal。 just because thought is
supposed to be superior to actuality; to dwell apart from it in higher regions and therefore to be
itself determined as an ought…to…be; on the one hand; it does not advance to the Notion; and; on
the other hand; it stands in just as untrue a relation to actuality as it does to the Notion。
Because the stone does not think; does not even feel; its limitedness is not a limitation for it; that
is; is not a negation in it for sensation; imagination; thought; etc。; which it does not possess。 But
even the stone; as a something; contains the distinction of its determination or in…itself and its
determinate being; and to that extent it; too; transcends its limitation; the Notion which is implicit in
it contains the identity of the stone with its other。 If it is a base capable of being acted on by an
acid; then it can be oxidised; and neutralised; and so on。 In oxidation; neutralisation and so on; it
overcomes its limitation of existing only as a base; it transcends it; and similarly the acid overcomes
its limitation of being an acid。 This ought; the obligation to transcend limitations; is present in both
acid and caustic base in such a degree that it is only by force that they can be kept fixed as
(waterless; that is; purely non…neutral) acid and caustic base。
If; however; an existence contains the Notion not merely as an abstract in…itself; but as an explicit;
self…determined totality; as instinct; life; ideation; etc。; then in its own strength it overcomes the
limitation and attains a being beyond it。 The plant transcends the limitation of being a seed;
similarly; of being blossom; fruit; leaf; the seed becomes the developed plant; the blossom fades
away; and so on。 The sentient creature; in the limitation of hunger; thirst; etc。; is the urge to
overcome this limitation and it does overcome it。 It feels pain; and it is the privilege of the sentient
nature to feel pain; it is a negation in its self; and the negation is determined as a limitation in its
feeling; just because the sentient creature has the feeling of its self; which is the totality that
transcends this determinateness。 If it were not above and beyond the determinateness; it would not
feel it as its negation and would feel no pain。
But it is reason; thought; which is supposed to be unable to transcend limitation … reason; which is
the universal explicitly beyond particularity as such (that is; all particularity); which is nothing but
the overcoming of limitation! Granted; not every instance of transcending and being beyond
limitation is a genuine liberation from it; a veritable affirmation; even the ought itself; and
abstraction in general; is in imperfect transcending。 However; the reference to the wholly abstract
universal is a sufficient reply to the equally abstract assertion that limitation cannot be transcended;
or; again; even the reference to the infinite in general is a sufficient refutation of the assertion that
the finite cannot be transcended。
In this connection we may mention a seemingly ingenious fancy of Leibniz: that if a magnet
possessed consciousness it would regard its pointing to the north as a determination of its will; as a
law of its freedom。 On the contrary; if it possessed consciousness and consequently will and
freedom; it would be a thinking being。 Consequently; space for it would be universal; embracing
every direction; so that the single direction to the north would be rather a limitation on its freedom;
just as much as being fixed to one spot would be a limitation for a man although not for a plant。
On the other hand; the ought is the transcending; but still only finite transcending; of the
limitation。 Therefore; it has its place and its validity in the sphere of finitude where it holds fast to
being…in…itself in opposition to limitedness; declaring the former to be the regulative and essential
factor relatively to what is null。 Duty is an ought directed against the particular will; against
self…seeking desire and capricious interest and it is held up as an ought to the will in so far as this
has the capacity to isolate itself from the true。 Those who attach such importance to the ought of
morality and fancy that morality is destroyed if the ought is not recognized as ultimate truth; and
those too who; reasoning from the level of the understanding; derive a perpetual satisfaction from
being able to confront everything there is with an ought; that is; with a 'knowing better'…and for that
very reason are just as loath to be robbed of the ought…do not see that as regards the finitude of
their sphere the ought receives full recognition。 But in the world of actuality itself; Reason and Law
are not in such a bad way that they only ought to be…it is only the abstraction of the in…itself that
stops at this…any more than the ought is in its own self perennial and; what is the same thing; that