FORCE, SUPERSENSIBLE WORLD AND LAW: ON THE CONCEPT OF APPEARANCE (ERSCHEINUNG) IN CHAPTER III OF HEGEL’S PHENOMENOLOGY OF MIND

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to clarify from a phenomenological perspective the concept of appearance in the chapter of the Phenomenology of Mind dedicated to the concept of understanding. Firstly, the text shows how the concept of appearance is defined as the totality of seeming in the context of the concept of force within the philosophy of nature. Secondly, the article explains how the supersensible world, through this concept of appearance, turns into an object for understanding and now it is designated as the authentic appearance. Finally, the text shows how through the supersensible world, the world of the laws of nature is turned into an object for understanding and how these laws cannot effectively account for the emergence of what appears, thus, exhibiting since here the need for a philosophical concept of appearance.