La concezione hegeliana dell’ironia e il corso berlinese del 1828-29

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to analyze the Hegelian interpretation of the notion of “irony” in the light of its evolution thorough the Berlin courses and in a comparison with the edition of the Ästhetik published by Hotho. The analysis of the last course of the 1828-29 is of particular importance, because there the notion of irony, which traditionally appears to be harshly criticized by Hegel, is taken as a decisive moment for the very concept of art. In this course, Hegel explicitly distinguishes between a “practical irony”, which he continues to criticize, and an irony that we could define as “artistic” or “aesthetic”, which he instead assumes as a significant moment in the constitution of the ideal. The discussion of this course can lead to a redefinition of Hegel’s interpretation of irony as it has been established by much of the critical tradition.