Abstract

Aim of this paper is to analyze Hegel’s notion of “singularity” as it is presented in the third part of the Science of Logic. It is argued that Hegel’s philosophy not only offers a definition of singularity, but also develops a very specific and original account of it. The first part of the paper deals with the Doctrines of Being and of Essence, in order to prove the relationship between objective and subjective Logic and to show how the genesis of Hegel’s notion of Singularity starts from the categories of “Something” and of “Thing”. The second part of the paper deals with Hegel’s account of Concept, of Judgement and of Syllogism and shows how Hegel’s notion of Singularity is the core notion of the whole Begriffslogik. Finally, in the third part is argued that the distinction between singularity and individuality is pivotal in order to understand Hegel’s standpoint on the matter. Hegel does in fact differentiate the two notions and his Logic shows the passage from singularity to individuality and finally to personality. It is also argued, after a thorough analysis, that the holistic-inferentialist approach to Hegel’s notion of individual being is insufficient, since it basically obliterates the originality of Hegel’s contribution to the topic and often doesn’t allow to recognize the specificity of his theory with respect to the tradition.