Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
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From the archive. First aired in Jan of 2025. A conversation about Hegel. Andrea talks with Karen Ng, Associate Professor of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University. The discussion delves into Hegel's ideas on contradiction, self-consciousness, life, and love, revealing how these notions are intricately intertwined in his work. Karen Ng brings forward her insights from her award-winning book 'Hegel's Concept of Life,' highlighting the radical nature of Hegel's thought and its relevance in modern contexts. Together, they explore deeply challenging philosophical concepts, making connections to contemporary issues in philosophy, environmental science, and cognitive theory. Join us as we navigate through Hegel’s complex ideas and uncover their enduring significance.
00:00 Hegel's Contradictory Philosophy
00:47 The Machine Model vs. Organic Unity
02:55 Introduction to Karen Ng and Her Work
06:40 Karen Ng's Journey with Hegel
16:17 Kant's Influence and the Copernican Turn
24:57 The Concept of Life and Internal Purposiveness
39:55 Exploring the Conditions for Intelligibility
40:27 Hegel's Radical Thought on Life and Meaning
41:44 Primitive and Sophisticated Sense-Making
42:09 Self-Conscious Forms of Life
42:37 Hegel's Connection Between Life and Meaning
43:56 The Speculative Identity Thesis
44:41 The Shock of Hegel's Absolute Idea
45:53 Thinking and Corporeality
47:51 The Radical Nature of Self-Conscious Life
48:52 Challenging Cartesian Dualism
49:38 Kant's Dualism and Moral Philosophy
50:37 The Speculative Identity Thesis and Cognition
52:42 The Radical Connection Between Life and Cognition
53:05 Contemporary Philosophers on Life and Mind
53:32 Hegel's Influence on Modern Thought
01:06:06 The Importance of Teaching Philosophy
01:07:46 Hegel's Thoughts on Love and Life
01:09:12 The Concept of Free Love
01:10:03 The Role of Love in Hegelian Philosophy
01:13:26 Concluding Thoughts on Hegel and Love
Andrea Hiott is a philosopher and cognitive scientist developing the navigational approach to mind — the view that mind is “the body’s navigational action in all spaces of life, from the geographical to the emotional to the social to the virtual.” She hosts the Love & Philosophy (Beyond Dichotomy) podcast and Substack, and her work draws on hippocampal research, 4E cognition (embodied, embedded, extended, enactive), and the ecological tradition. Her book Holding Paradox: A Navigational Approach to Mind and Consciousness is forthcoming. Her recurring interests — holding apparent contradictions open, “way-making,” the importance of care and 'mattering', constellation/kaleidoscopic thinking, and moving beyond either/or — frame her questions throughout.
Support the show (loveandphilosophy.com/giving-page)
Buy Holding Paradox: The Navigational Approach to Mind and Consciousness (simonandschuster.net/books/Holding-Paradox/Andrea-Hiott/9781917991636) by Andrea Hiott
Sign up for Making Ways newsletter and projects. (making-ways.com/)
Please rate and review with love.
YouTube (youtube.com/@waymaking23) , Facebook (facebook.com/waymaking/) , Instagram (instagram.com/waymaking23/) , Substack (lovephilosophy.substack.com/) .
Send a love message (buzzsprout.com/2229994/fan_mail/new)
From the archive. First aired in Jan of 2025. A conversation about Hegel. Andrea talks with Karen Ng, Associate Professor of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University. The discussion delves into Hegel's ideas on contradiction, self-consciousness, life, and love, revealing how these notions are intricately intertwined in his work. Karen Ng brings forward her insights from her award-winning book 'Hegel's Concept of Life,' highlighting the radical nature of Hegel's thought and its relevance in modern contexts. Together, they explore deeply challenging philosophical concepts, making connections to contemporary issues in philosophy, environmental science, and cognitive theory. Join us as we navigate through Hegel’s complex ideas and uncover their enduring significance.
00:00 Hegel's Contradictory Philosophy
00:47 The Machine Model vs. Organic Unity
02:55 Introduction to Karen Ng and Her Work
06:40 Karen Ng's Journey with Hegel
16:17 Kant's Influence and the Copernican Turn
24:57 The Concept of Life and Internal Purposiveness
39:55 Exploring the Conditions for Intelligibility
40:27 Hegel's Radical Thought on Life and Meaning
41:44 Primitive and Sophisticated Sense-Making
42:09 Self-Conscious Forms of Life
42:37 Hegel's Connection Between Life and Meaning
43:56 The Speculative Identity Thesis
44:41 The Shock of Hegel's Absolute Idea
45:53 Thinking and Corporeality
47:51 The Radical Nature of Self-Conscious Life
48:52 Challenging Cartesian Dualism
49:38 Kant's Dualism and Moral Philosophy
50:37 The Speculative Identity Thesis and Cognition
52:42 The Radical Connection Between Life and Cognition
53:05 Contemporary Philosophers on Life and Mind
53:32 Hegel's Influence on Modern Thought
01:06:06 The Importance of Teaching Philosophy
01:07:46 Hegel's Thoughts on Love and Life
01:09:12 The Concept of Free Love
01:10:03 The Role of Love in Hegelian Philosophy
01:13:26 Concluding Thoughts on Hegel and Love
Andrea Hiott is a philosopher and cognitive scientist developing the navigational approach to mind — the view that mind is “the body’s navigational action in all spaces of life, from the geographical to the emotional to the social to the virtual.” She hosts the Love & Philosophy (Beyond Dichotomy) podcast and Substack, and her work draws on hippocampal research, 4E cognition (embodied, embedded, extended, enactive), and the ecological tradition. Her book Holding Paradox: A Navigational Approach to Mind and Consciousness is forthcoming. Her recurring interests — holding apparent contradictions open, “way-making,” the importance of care and 'mattering', constellation/kaleidoscopic thinking, and moving beyond either/or — frame her questions throughout.
Support the show (loveandphilosophy.com/giving-page)
Buy Holding Paradox: The Navigational Approach to Mind and Consciousness (simonandschuster.net/books/Holding-Paradox/Andrea-Hiott/9781917991636) by Andrea Hiott
Sign up for Making Ways newsletter and projects. (making-ways.com/)
Please rate and review with love.
YouTube (youtube.com/@waymaking23) , Facebook (facebook.com/waymaking/) , Instagram (instagram.com/waymaking23/) , Substack (lovephilosophy.substack.com/) .
