A NEW HOPE FOR THE «FRIENDS OF THE ABSOLUTE»: AN INTRODUCTION

In this introductory essay, I offer an overview of Gregory Moss’ book Hegel’s Foundations Free Metaphysics. After reconstructing the book’s argument, I assess its contribution to the ongoing debate on Hegel’s metaphysics, on the one hand, and to the «monism renaissance» within analytic metaphysics, on the other. With respect to the former, I highlight how Moss’ book signals a welcome shift in the interpretative debate, defending Hegel’s engagement with questions that recent interpreters have associated with pre- Kantian metaphysics, and not with Hegel. Pairing this demonstration with an illustration of how Hegel’s metaphysics can interact with contemporary theories in speculative realism and analytic philosophy, Moss’ book reopens the question of what should be considered Hegel’s legacy, meant here as the aspects of Hegel’s philosophy which retain contemporary relevance. Expanding on this latter point, I suggest that Moss’ reading of Hegel as overcoming the Western assumption of the absolute validity of the principle of non-contradiction testifies to Hegel’s potential in solving issues weighing on the contemporary «monism renaissance» within analytic metaphysic. In the final section, I introduce the contributions that compose this book symposium.