Pizhuhish nāmah-i intiqādī-i mutūn va barnāmah hā-yi ̒ulūm-i insāni (Critical Studies in Texts & Programs of Human Sciences)

"Desire," "Other," and "Work" The Emergence of a Different Meaning of Objectivity in "Phenomenology of Spirit

Document Type : Research

Authors

Mohammad Hadi Mohammadi 1
Ali Asghar Mosleh 2

1 PhD Candidate in Philosophy, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran

2 Professor, Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Persian Literature and Foreign Languages, Allameh Tabataba’i University, Tehran, Iran

https://doi.org/10.30465/crtls.2026.51755.2926
Abstract
The issue of recognizing external objects in modern philosophy, especially with the denial of the distinction between primary and secondary qualities, has become a fundamental problem. In this context, Kant, in his transcendental idealism, sought to explain external objects based on the necessary unity of consciousness; for him, the object is the product of the self-consciousness's determination of sensory data. Concepts and categories of understanding serve as expressions of this unity of self-consciousness, acting as a formal judgment that is applied to the diverse material of the senses and provides representational objects in experience. However, Hegel, in his "Phenomenology of Spirit" offered a different explanation of how objectivity is constituted, not based on reliance on sensory data. He initially critiqued Kant's transcendental self-consciousness, explaining that the relationship between self-consciousness and the world is not immediate but is mediated through "Desire" and ultimately through the "Other." This article aims to examine how "Desire" signifies self-consciousness and then, through it, the essential role of the "Other" in the formation of self-consciousness. Finally, by providing an analysis of the dialectic of master and slave, it will demonstrate how the concept of "Work" in the slave plays a key role in the constitution of objectivity in Hegelian idealism through the subject's objectification of its content and its recognition by the "Other."

Keywords

Desire
Hegel
Objectivity
Phenomenology of Spirit
Self-consciousness
The Other
Work
Subjects
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  • Receive Date 28 April 2025
  • Revise Date 04 January 2026
  • Accept Date 06 January 2026

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