PART II - THE ACTION

Summary

Hegel proceeds in the Philosophy of Right as in other parts of his system: He begins each part with an overview of the logical structure. Paragraph 114 serves this function for the Morality chapter; in it, he presents the “three aspects” (R §114), along with the concepts belonging to them, that are contained in the “right of the moral will” (ibid.).

In these paragraphs, Hegel names a great number of logical determinations, evidently in the attempt to present the structure of the Morality chapter as the systematic development of his conceptual system. Yet, in examining the relationships of the “three aspects” (ibid.) to one another, some difficulties come to light. “Intention” and “welfare,” then “the good” and “conscience,” appear as the second (b) and third (c) “aspects,” corresponding to the titles of the latter two sections of the Morality chapter. But in the first point (a), only “purpose” appears, whereas “responsibility” is nowhere to be found. This is noteworthy, since in the title of the first section, both concepts appear, and in the paragraphs of the first section the concept “responsibility” is central. It is also noteworthy that a further concept is missing, one decisive for the first section: the concept of “deed.”

But this discrepancy – which on its own is perhaps external – is not the only one that strikes the reader. Attention to the relationship of the first two “aspects” to each other reveals an “asymmetrical” construction.