Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit:
152.
ARGUMENT:
the law is present in a twofold manner - once as a law where the differences are
expressed as independent moments - and in a simple withdrawal into itself which can
be called Force in the sense of the Notion of Force - an abstraction which absorbs the
differences of what attracts and is attracted
simple electricity e.g. is Force - but the expression of difference falls within law - this
difference is positive and negative electricity
in the case of the motion of falling - Force is the simple factor of gravity - whose law
is that the magnitudes of the different moments of motion are related to one another as
root to square
electricity itself is not difference per se - not essentially the dual essence of positive
and negative electricity
it has the law of the mode of this being and it has the property of expressing itself this
way
the property is the essential property of this Force - it belongs to it necessarily
necessity is an empty word
Force must - just because it must duplicate this way
of course given positive electricity negative too is given in principle
but that electricity should divide itself in this way is not a necessity
electricity as a simple force is indifferent to its law
it's Notion is indifferent to its being
it merely has this property - which means the property is not necessary
definition does not contain the necessity of its essence - it either exists because we
find it or it exists by means of other Forces
that is its necessity is an external necessity
being through another is to relapse into a plurality of specific laws - which we left
behind in order to consider law as law
it is only with law as law that we are to compare its Notion as Notion - or its necessity
but in all these forms necessity has shown itself to be an empty word
COMMENTARY:
this law of attraction - that which attracts and that which is attracted - is a law that
cannot be put to the test - how could we devise a test to determine if the law does not
apply - in terms of this law - any state of affairs is either that which attracts or that
which is attracted?
it is simply a case of a universal statement - and as such - as it does not exclude
anything - it has no testable content - that is to say in principle it cannot be falsified
according to this law there cannot be anything that does not attract or is attracted
the only thing you can say for it is that it shapes focus - it directs our attention to the
subject of force -
in speaking of electricity as a force Hegel says it is not essentially positive and
negative - and it is not necessary that electricity should divide itself this way - that
electricity is a simple force indifferent to its law of positive and negative attributes
we can say here that any phenomena can be categorized and then described - and that
in essence this is the endeavour of science - levels of description
always we can say that the phenomenon in itself 'is indifferent to' its description
in describing consciousness places phenomena within more and more general
descriptive frameworks
this is the business of dealing with phenomena
outside of this dealing the phenomena is unknown
it is only 'known' in terms of the descriptive attributes given to it
I should point out - we never begin - in this descriptive process with a pristine state -
always we come to description - in the midst of a given description - it is in response
to this given description that we develop our theories - our stratagems for action
however at the same time we see that outside of description primary or secondary -
what is given is unknown
so yes 'definition does not contain the necessity of its essence' -
by the same token there is not I think any non-pragmatic value in retaining the notions
of essence and necessity
on necessity - to get right to it - we cannot know whether the world is necessary or
contingent - the world as it is - if such a concept makes any sense - is simply the world
undefined - which is to say unknown
contingency and necessity are best understood as tools - for dealing with what we face
they are concepts that have a role in certain activities and certain understandings
mathematics has used the notion of necessity as a concept fundamental to its
operations
and empirical science has done the same with contingency
