Thomas Henry Silva Stanton

This research seeks to investigate the possibility of extracting a concept of modern cynicism from within Hegel’s philosophy, focusing on the Phenomenology of Spirit. Although the concept is not explicitly articulated at any point of the German philosopher’s text, we intend on investigating to what extent some of its key concepts can be located, through a joint reading of the Phenomenology figures of dilacerated consciousness and romantic irony, both registered in chapter VI. Spirit. Our central hypothesis is that, provided that attention is paid to the architetonic of the text and the presentation (Darstellung) undertaken by Hegel, a compared reading of dilacerated consciousness and romantic irony proves fruitful for the reconstruction of how the German philosopher implicitly conceives modern cynicism. These figures can relate in a complementary manner, manifesting both conformities and impediments to the movement of the notion, thereby crystallizing the form in which modern cynicism, on the one hand, reverberates the social world in its truth, but on the other, congeals the contradictions that should propel it in the direction of a higher stage.