Hegel's critique of Early German Romanticism and its theory of irony resonates to the core of his own philosophy in the same way that Plato's polemics with the Sophists have repercussions that go to the centre of his thought. The Anti-Romantic examines Hegel's critique of Fr. Schlegel, Novalis and Schleiermacher. Hegel rarely mentions these thinkers by name and the texts dealing with them often exist on the periphery of his oeuvre. Nonetheless, individually, they represent embodiments of specific forms of irony: Schlegel, a form of critical individuality; Novalis, a form of sentimental nihilism; Schleiermacher, a monstrous hybrid of the other two.
The strength of Hegel's polemical approach to these authors shows how irony itself represents for him a persistent threat to his own idea of systematic Science. This is so, we discover, because Romantic irony is more than a rival ideology; it is an actual form of discourse, one whose performative objectivity interferes with the objectivity of Hegel's own logos. Thus, Hegel's critique of irony allows us to reciprocally uncover a Hegelian theory of scientific discourse. Far from seeing irony as a form of consciousness overcome by Spirit, Hegel sees it as having become a pressing feature of his own contemporary world, as witnessed in the popularity of his Berlin rival, Schleiermacher. Finally, to the extent that ironic discourse seems, for Hegel, to imply a certain world beyond his own notion of modernity, we are left with the hypothesis that Hegel's critique of irony may be viewed as a critique of post-modernity.
Industry Reviews
[This book] is engaging, fresh, and insightful. It captures the spirit of Hegel's idealism, remarkably, on two registers. It contextualizes essential features that we might want to reclaim. It also makes clear aspects of Hegel's corpus that we might need to reject. The book opens paths of interpretation beyond itself, and that is a core component of an excellent book -- Rocio Zambrana, University of Oregon, USA Notre Dame Reviews Jeffrey Reid's work on Hegel's critical reaction to the Romantics offers an approach to this complicated question that is novel in several ways. He formulates it against the background of Hegel's own quest for a form of 'scientific discourse' adequate to his broad systematic aims, then treats Hegel's critique of Romanticism in terms of the key Romantic concept of irony, viewed as an alternative (though, for Hegel, inadequate) form of philosophical expression. Not only does his approach shed new light on Hegel's relation to his contemporaries, such as Fr. Schlegel, Novalis, and Schleiermacher, but it also has important implications for how one might respond to our own contemporary practitioners of 'postmodern irony.' It is a book both rich in historical detail about an important aspect of Hegel's thought that has often been neglected, and a work of philosophy in its own right that engages issues central to many contemporary discussions. Reid's book is required reading for anyone interested in Hegel and German Idealism, the Romantic movement, or the ironic mode of discourse as it is currently practiced. Jere Surber, Department of Philosophy, The University of Denver, Denver, USA. The critical role of Novalis, Schlegel, and Schleiermacher in the development of Hegel's thought has largely been ignored in Hegel scholarship. Jeffrey Reid's The Anti-Romantic: Hegel Against Ironic Romanticism corrects that neglect. By establishing the importance of these figures for Hegel he makes a significant contribution to both Hegel research and research on German idealism. This fine book is also a welcome addition to the growing interest in the philosophical dimensions of German Romanticism. Simon Lumsden, Philosophy, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of New South Wales, Australia The Anti-Romantic: Hegel against Ironic Romanticism offers a brilliant and highly original perspective on Hegel's idea of philosophy as scientific discourse. Hegel's idea is presented indirectly through his polemic against the Romantic forms of irony defended by Friedrich Schlegel, Novalis and Schleiermacher. On the basis of his broad historical research, Reid presents the intriguing thesis that Hegel's critique of irony may be viewed as a critique of post-modernity. Angelica Nuzzo, Professor of Philosophy, Graduate Center and Brooklyn College, CUNY, USA.
