Paradox, Dialectic, & System [Hardcover]

Howard P. Kainz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1988

This book undertakes a critical analysis of some central problems in Hegel scholarship. It is concerned with clarifying the theoretical underpinnings of paradox, the possible relationship of paradox to a dialectic logic, and the possibilities of systematization of dialectic and/or paradox. The author begins with a discussion of current attitudes toward paradox in mathematics, science, and logic, and then moves gradually toward a differentiation of philosophical paradox in the strict sense from literary, religious, and logic paradox. The relationship of dialect to paradox is elucidated by means of a phenomenological analysis of self-consciousness. Finally, possible approaches to the systematization of dialectic are considered. Analyzing and evaluating Hegel's dialectical-paradoxical system in particular, Dr. Kainz also addresses the question of viable alternatives to Hegel's approach.While paradox is generally considered by philosophers and logicians as something to be avoided, Kainz's study investigates the possibility that it is an important and even indispensable element of constructive thinking in philosophy as well as other disciplines. Paradox, Dialect, and System is this a contribution not only to Hegel scholarship but to philosophy itself. It will be of particular interest to this concerned with the differentiation of dialectical and nondialectical philosophical systems and with the prevalence of paradox in literature, religion, and contemporary physics.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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About the Author

Howard P. Kainz is Professor of Philosophy at Marquette University. He has been a National Endowment for the Humanities fellow (1977-78) and a Fullbright fellow in Germany (1981-82 and 1987-88). He is author of Hegel's Philosophy of Right, with Marx's Commentary; Hegel's Phenomenology, Part I: Analysis and Commentary; Hegel's Phenomenology, PartII: The Evolution of Ethical and Religious Consciousness to the Absolute Standpoint (1983); and a number of articles on Hegel. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 137 pages
• Publisher: Pennsylvania State University Press (January 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0271004991
• ISBN-13: 978-0271004990
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #541,651 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Howard Kainz has been a professor at Marquette University, Milwaukee, since 1967. He was a recipient of a National Endowment for the Humanities fellowship for 1977-1978, and Fulbright fellowships in Germany for 1980-1981 and 1987-1988. His major publications include "Active and Passive Potency" in Thomistic Angelology (1972); Hegel's Phenomenology, Part I: Analysis and Commentary (1976); Ethica Dialectica: A Study of Ethical Oppositions (1979); The Philosophy of Man (1981); Hegel's Phenomenology, Part II: The Evolution of Ethical and Religious Consciousness to the Absolute Standpoint (1983); Philosophical Perspectives on Peace (1987); Ethics in Context: Toward the Definition and Differentation of the Morally Good (1988); Paradox, Dialectic, and System: A Reconstruction of the Hegelian Problematic (1988); Democracy and the "Kingdom of God" (1993); Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit: Selections Translated and Annotated by Howard P. Kainz (1994); GWF Hegel: The Philosophical System (1996); Politically Incorrect Dialogues (1999); Natural Law: an Introduction and Reexamination (2004); and The Philosophy of Human Nature (2008). His Paradox, Dialectic, and System received the Choice Distinguished Scholarly Book award for 1988. His most recent book, The Existence of God and the Faith-Instinct, was published in 2010.