Haha. Alas, my great-great grandfathers did not know Hegel but maybe a few of them of them heard about him while studying at Princeton or Harvard in the 1830s. However, most would say Hegel? Hay? Haggle? Huh? Many of those signed their legal documents with a "mark".
Yes, it is slightly annoying to some, I suppose, that I happen to have a well documented lineage, one that urges Kate to be a little sardonic in winking conformity to American disdain for any residue of class (while ravishing it in popular culture). But I think it's good to keep alive the memories of our forebears if only to try to understand earlier times and values. I've got 54 generations cited and that's a very long lineage, back to 450CE, but most of that is due to meticulous and accessible royal records... and a few fortuitous marriages in medieval England and France, including Mr. Holy Roman Emperor Charlemaigne, who also signed with a "mark", being illiterate. The hardest part of my search centered on 18-19 C. USA when far more ordinary ancestors, scarcely documented, moved around a lot seeking their opportunities. (I hope my descendants will remember me, too, especially as I edge closer to my physical oblivion, new close enough to whiff it, it sometimes seems). If you don't know your ancestors, back several generations at least, now is the time to begin the adventure of finding them. You will love it. You will discover real people with emotions and fascinating lives and struggles and achnievements. You will feel history come alive in your own family. They will have a place in your heart. You will become a part of a long conversation through the centuries. You will acquire a sense of responsibility to your ancestors, to justify their unfinished work or repair their lost dreams. You will learn forgiveness. My quest began over forty years ago -- possibly because I was orphaned as a young man and knew so little of my family history. Yes, please, let's read Hegel. I suggest we begin where he did: Introductory Lectures on Aesthetics, Chapter One, The Range of Aesthetic Defined and Some Objections Against the Philosophy of Art Refuted. I'm reading the Penguin Classic translation on my Kindle Fire by Bernard Bosanquet,1886, newly edited with Introduction by Michael Inwood, 2004. wc ----- Original Message ---- From: "[email protected]" <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Sun, July 1, 2012 7:38:20 PM Subject: Re: Hegel Presumably that was Joe Berg who felt he was kindly saving our time from bothering with Hegel on account Hegel thought Antigone was the beat work of art there was and there was a lesson in it. Or whoever. I would appreciate it if no one tried to save time in this way. If we have none of us read Hegel, except predictably Conger,(whose great great grandfather knew Hegel well) perhaps we could read whatever part is applicable and stop wasting time. Kate Sullivan, -----Original Message----- From: Cheerskep <[email protected]> To: aesthetics-l <[email protected]> Sent: Sun, Jul 1, 2012 4:35 pm Subject: Re: Hegel -----Original Message----- From: Cheerskep <[email protected]> To: aesthetics-l <[email protected]> Sent: Sun, Jul 1, 2012 4:35 pm Subject: Re: Hegel In a message dated 7/1/12 3:26:32 PM, [email protected] writes: > > http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/antigonick-b > y-anne-carson/article4363942/ > > The space after 'b' is a mistake. The correct5 url is http://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/book-reviews/antigonick-b y-anne-carson/article 4363942/ To save lister's time: Hegel praises ANTIGONE as the best work of art there was. Presumably this was because Hegel saw in it reflections of the Germany of his time, and the need to follow conscience even when it contradicts the King. I personally have never found the "lesson" of any work of art to be part of what gives me an "aesthetic experience".
