Gerhard Martin Wölfle: Die Wesenslogik in Hegels »Wissenschaft der Logik«

Does Hegel’s ›Wissenschaft der Logik‹ (Science of Logic) accomplish its goal of presenting a necessary system of the absolute? This question cannot possibly be answered with a paraphrasing commentary but only with an attempt at a strict reconstruction. This is the task addressed in the present study, which limits itself to the logic of essence. It shows that the logic of essence cannot be sustained as a coherent system. The reconstruction results in a high level of transparency of the work itself and of its relationship to the philosophical tradition, in particular to Kant’s former metaphysics and critical philosophy.