Hegel on madness and habit
example · Hegel ·
retold in 6 talks
Hegel's Philosophy of Spirit argues that madness is the structural presupposition for subjectivity, and habit is the attempt to control this constitutive madness.
≤2000talks it is told in, per year2026
As told 4
“being mad is a structural presupposition through which subjectivity awakens from animal spirit through madness”1:45:01 Slavoj Žižek Masterclass: Jacques Lacan: A Lateral Introduction. Part 2pub. 2018-11-28 · 1:56:22
“even if all of us empirically do not have to be mad for a moment, but the threat of madness has to be there”
“madness remain to the end as a threat. It's not simply aufgehoben, sublated.”
What it carries
one story, many jobs: the ideas this anecdote is deployed to argue, one tally mark per use (an idea page shows the same relation from the other end, as its shelf of stories)
Its cast and sources
populated by
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart3Robert Schumann2Napoleon III1John Malkovich1opera: Parsifal1film: They Live1personal/autobiographical1Slovenian/Yugoslav1
alongside works
Every retelling 5
1:45:01 Slavoj Žižek Masterclass: Jacques Lacan: A Lateral Introduction. Part 2pub. 2018-11-28 · 1:56:22
Hegel's Philosophy of Spirit argues that madness is the structural presupposition for subjectivity, and habit is the attempt to control this constitutive madness., illustrating Hegelian death drive
~35:10 Slavoj Žižek on Marx, Hegel, Politics, Films, Burgers and Hot Dogs… and a lot more!2021 · 1:47:20
In the Encyclopedia, Hegel says the origin of the human mind emerging from natural organisms is madness, and madness must remain as a permanent background possibility; personal reconciliation is reconciliation with this madness you will never get rid of., illustrating night of the world,dark freedom
In his anthropology, Hegel argues that rational human mind appears structurally as a defense against madness; between animal and human there is a moment of madness (loss of roots in nature), and even if we are not empirically mad, the threat of madness must be present for civilization to function., illustrating radical negativity / fourth mode of absolute,civilization requires threatening ground
In the Encyclopedia's Philosophy of Spirit, Hegel derives humanity out of animal life via madness, disorientation, loss of instinctual roots; madness remains as a threat and re-explodes as war at the end of his system., illustrating death drive,Aufhebung,madness as origin of humanity
Markus Gabriel’s argument (co-authored with Žižek) that madness is a necessary step to humanity; we must pass through the threat of madness to develop 'Gewohnheit' (customs/discipline)., illustrating Gewohnheit,Hegel’s theory of madness