Abstract
The paper proposes a dialectical reading of Abel’s Zeichen- und Interpretationsphilosophie, and more specifically of Abel’s theory of the forms of knowledge (Wissensformen) as developed in the third part of Zeichen der Wirklichkeit. After a short consideration of Hegel’s definitions of “dialectics” in the Enzyklopädie der philosophischen Wissenschaften im Grundriß, I examine Abel’s theory of the forms of knowledge, showing its closeness to Hegel’s dialectical account of thought. Some paradigmatic insights are typical for both thinkers: the view of forms as generative principles rather than empty containers; the necessary link between ‘Wissensformen’ and natural language; the dynamic interplay between knowing (Wissen) and not-knowing (Nicht-Wissen); the dynamic nature of ‘Wissensformen’; the conception of a positive form of scepticism, which is an essential part of every form of philosophical knowledge (Wissen). In the last part, I examine those ideas that place Abel’s philosophy within contemporary neo-pragmatistic appropriations of Hegel. In my view, the strength of Abel’s position consists, in this respect, in its metaphilosophical awareness.
