What Do We Talk About When We Talk About Good? On the Structural Function of the Practical Idea in Hegel’s Logic

The subject of this paper is the meaning of the concept of “good” in Hegel’s philosophy. The main thesis that is argued is that the good in the Logic, unlike the good in the Philosophy of Right, fulfils a structural function, i.e., it is relevant to Hegel’s whole system, and not only to his practical philosophy, since it is the condition for ascribing to reality and knowledge a practical nature as well as a teleological-evaluative structure. Drawing on some metaethical distinctions, this is summarized by the claim that Hegel understands the concept of “good” in the Logic primarily in a sense that is neither substantive nor predicative, but attributive.