Relation

Hegel (synonym for "Verhältnis")

Relation is a bond, a connection. In Kant, one of the four groups of categories (substance/accident, causality, reciprocal action). Important throughout in Hegel: relations are not external between ready-made terms; rather, the terms exist only through their relation. Example: teacher/student are relational concepts - neither exists without the other. Highest form: self-knowing relation (reciprocal action, concept).

Origin

Lat. relatio. Aristotle: pros ti (in relation to something) as a category. Leibniz: relations are real, not merely mental. Hegel: relation as constitutive of the relata.

In Hegel

Enz. §142 (Addition)

Cross-references

Verhältnis · Reciprocal Action · Causality · Logic of Essence