Abstract

Hegel divides his discussion of Relation into Relation of Being and Relation of Thinking; this chapter considers the first of these two. For Kant, Relation and Modality are on a par with Quantity and Quality as the four divisions of his Table of Categories. In contrast, Hegel will not treat Relation on a par with Quantity and Quality: Relation introduces an entirely other realm than what is found in Kant, and Hegel’s transition from Simple Connection to Relation must be evaluated as an exit from German Idealism. The three subsections of the Relation of Being, which treat the relation of substance, the relation of cause, and reciprocity, respectively, are a radical rewriting of Kant’s treatment of these categories. Hegel has begun to construct the Logical Category, and he will precede by identifying the form of its points (foundational trace), the content of which (identity arrows) will only reveal itself once the construction is completed and the points can be eliminated. This discussion finds its roots in the discussion of the corporeal sign in Hegel’s antecedent System of Valuation. (178 words).