On Gender in Philosophical Theories of Hegel and Lévinas

Hegel and Lévinas are thinkers who have developed complex approaches to a philosophy of gender relations, offering a new view in their time. My research project will explore the relationship between Hegel and Lévinas concerning issues of gender, until now inadequately researched. Taking into account this desideratum, comparision between Hegel and Lévinas reveals a fascinating dialogue between these two philosophers. It is surprising that this extensive knowledge has not until now been sufficiently used in contemporary research. With regard to my topic, two tendencies can be distinguished in current literature: An essentialist one, that insists on the normative potential of gender-specific differences, and a constructivist one, that ignores any notion of nature for defining gender difference. Both positions are problematic. The essentialist approach denies the relevance of metaphysical (or ontological) questions at the expense of a metaphysical understanding of gender difference; the constructivist approach denies the notion of nature and body for defining gender difference at the expense of a metaphysical understanding of construction. To overcome this dichotomy, philosophical inquiry into gender must increase its spectrum, considering structural implications of respective philosophical theories. Seen from this perspective, philosophical inquiry into gender means also knowledge of its own boundaries, and this knowledge makes possible transposition, integration, transformation, distance, fragmentation und abandonment. Its locus is intra-, inter- and transsubjective. The temporal aspects of boundary positing (e.g. between life and death) are subjective and socially constituted, and the way in which boundaries are posited (between life and death, nature and spirit, wishes and desire, loss and acquisition, ), has effects on the philosophical articulation of gender issues in Hegel and Lévinas.

Hegel and Lévinas are thinkers who have developed complex approaches to a philosophy of gender relations, offering a new view in their time. My research project will explore the relationship between Hegel and Lévinas concerning issues of gender, until now inadequately researched. Taking into account this desideratum, comparision between Hegel and Lévinas reveals a fascinating dialogue between these two philosophers. It is surprising that this extensive knowledge has not until now been sufficiently used in contemporary research. With regard to my topic, two tendencies can be distinguished in current literature: An essentialist one, that insists on the normative potential of gender-specific differences, and a constructivist one, that ignores any notion of nature for defining gender difference. Both positions are problematic. The essentialist approach denies the relevance of metaphysical (or ontological) questions at the expense of a metaphysical understanding of gender difference; the constructivist approach denies the notion of nature and body for defining gender difference at the expense of a metaphysical understanding of construction. To overcome this dichotomy, philosophical inquiry into gender must increase its spectrum, considering structural implications of respective philosophical theories. Seen from this perspective, philosophical inquiry into gender means also knowledge of its own boundaries, and this knowledge makes possible transposition, integration, transformation, distance, fragmentation und abandonment. Its locus is intra-, inter- and transsubjective. The temporal aspects of boundary positing (e.g. between life and death) are subjective and socially constituted, and the way in which boundaries are posited (between life and death, nature and spirit, wishes and desire, loss and acquisition, ...), has effects on the philosophical articulation of gender issues in Hegel and Lévinas.