Vol. 40 No. 2 (2020): Philosophy of Translation. An Interdisciplinary Approach
Articles

The Polyvalency of Schuld in Hegel’s Morality: A Contribution to Translation Studies about a Fundamental Concept of Hegel’s Philosophy of Action

Giulia Battistoni
Università di Verona

Published 2020-12-19

Keywords

  • Hegel,
  • Morality,
  • Schuld,
  • Action theory,
  • Translation studies

How to Cite

The Polyvalency of Schuld in Hegel’s Morality: A Contribution to Translation Studies about a Fundamental Concept of Hegel’s Philosophy of Action. (2020). Teoria. Rivista Di Filosofia, 40(2), 209-220. https://doi.org/10.4454/teoria.v40i2.113

Abstract

The essay focuses on the different meanings and translations of a fundamental concept of Hegel’s action theory, i.e. Schuld, as it is discussed in the Morality Chapter of his Philosophy of Right. Firstly, I will introduce the main meanings of the concept in the 19th century in Germany in order to clarify the historical grounds of its ambiguity (1); secondly, I will discuss the meanings of Schuld as it is understood by Hegel in his action theory. Given point 1, I will refer i.a. to its meaning of culpa, bringing light to passages of Hegel’s text that have never been clarified by research up to now; I will distinguish this meaning from that of moral responsibility (2). This will lead, lastly, to a metareflection – intrinsic to philosophical praxis – on translation of philosophical concepts: the role of translators as mediators between two cultures proves to be essential, giving the reader the opportunity to understand the terminological richness of a concept, like that of Schuld (3).