Misreading Hegel stems from constructed reading habits, not inadequate education
Evidence
Hegel begins with the ordinary practice of reading and understanding philosophical writing. He reminds us of one âparticular complaint often made against philosophical writings, that so much has to be read over and over again before it can be understoodâ. Now, as he interprets this, if the reader of a philosophical text generally does not understand what he or she has read, this is not the fault of an inadequate education. The work remains incomprehensible even for an individual âwho otherwise possesses the intellectual and cultural conditions required to understand itâ. The problem lies instead in the way the readerâs ordinary habits of reading and understanding have been constructed. â Catherine Malabou, The Future of Hegel, 1195
Categorization
Category: Contrarian or Surprising Claims
- QUESTION: Hegel anticipates the idea that comprehension failure is structural to the readerâs habit rather than cognitive deficiency â worth chasing what âconstructed habitsâ means for pedagogy.
Related
- Philosophical incomprehension stems from the readerâs habits, not inadequate education. (similarity 0.96)
- Incomprehension of philosophy stems from reading habits, not ignorance (similarity 0.94)
- Reading Hegel requires a beginning that both foresees and does not foresee what follows (similarity 0.83)
- Philosophical propositions are fundamentally unreadable on first reading (similarity 0.82)
- Speculative propositions exist only by being rewritten, never by initial reading (similarity 0.80)
- Philosophyâs self-knowledge is an act of reading, not passive contemplation (similarity 0.80)
- Speculative statements can only be read by being rewritten (similarity 0.79)
- Interpretation is always provisional and promised to future readers (similarity 0.79)
- Reading Hegel is a hall of mutually reflecting mirrors across plasticityâs stages (similarity 0.79)
- The reading of Hegel as past-minded has become unquestioned currency. (similarity 0.79)