The research in this paper attempts to outline the connection between Hegel’s concept of action and the contemporary philosophy of action. Hegel’s concept of action has some features in common with the ideas of analytical philosophers, and might open unexpected integration of these different philosophical traditions, which would contribute to the development of both of them. A brief overview of ways to comprehend Hegel’s concept of action (from Taylor to Brandom) shows that the cause of ambiguous understandings of this concept lies in the complexity of Hegel’s approach. The following article highlights the tension between “deflationary” interpretations and the complexity of Hegel´s original approach. Further, by revisiting the Section “Teleology” in Hegel’s Science of Logic, the article illustrates how deflationary interpretations of human action can be improved, so that they are topical for both contemporary practical philosophy and the philosophy of action, beyond the unnecessary split between analytical vs. continental philosophy. Such concepts as “purpose” and “mediation” become crucial, as they have sociological and normative extensions in Hegel’s Philosophy of Right, as discussed in the last Section of this article.

The article deals with revision of problem of the unconscious in the system of Hegel’s philosophy. The author tries to demonstrate an inconsistency of popular ideas about Hegelian theories that regard «Hegel» only as a preacher of a «reasonable» and «necessary» structure of reality and consciousness. The author of the article sets himself the task of drawing the attention of contemporary Hegelian scholarship to the fact that he had worked a lot on the processes taking place in the «unconscious mind», which became the object of close attention to psychoanalytic theories.

Review of Lampe, K., & Benjamin, A. (Eds.). (2021). German Stoicisms: From Hegel to Sloterdijk. London: ‎Bloomsbury Academic.

The main focus of the proposed study is one of the contemporary interpretations of Hegel's concept of action, created by famous American philosopher Robert Pippin. Pippin created his interpretation against the background of a certain theoretical discussion, which unfolded in a number of special philosophical studies on Hegel's concept of action and the prospects of using Hegel's ideas in the development of the philosophy of action as part of contemporary practical philosophy. One group of scholars (C. Taylor, R. Brandom) believes that any new interpretations should take into account the established historical and philosophical orientation to preserve the authentic meanings of Hegel's idealistic philosophy, and therefore Hegel's concept of action should be considered in conjunction with other elements of his system. Representatives of another group (E. Maraguat, K. Vieweg) believe that Hegel's ideas can be relevant in the context of contemporary philosophy only if we «translate» them into «non-metaphysical» language or even leave certain Hegel's ideas and concepts out of research (development of Idea, Spirit, concept etc). Robert Pippin supposes that action in Hegel's philosophy should be considered in several dimensions simultaneously because this is what allows us not to lose the semantic nuances that are crucial for the correct understanding of the entire Hegel's system. The American philosopher reaches this goal through the original reconstruction of Hegel's theory of freedom, supplemented by theories of recognition and institutional rationality. As a result, Hegel's philosophy in Robert Pippin's account seems to be able, even today, to deepen our understanding of the phenomena of human freedom, responsibility, action, and to help solve the practical problems associated with them.