Earth Process and World History: an Outline

Abstract

This essay focuses on the connection between Hegel’s concepts of Erdprozess and Weltgeschichte, thereby showing the centrality of the recently inaugurated sciences of Geology and Geography for the elaboration of both his Philosophy of Nature and Philosophy of World History according to a certain “materialistic” tendency, radically opposed to Schelling’s combinatory methodology. I try to bring to light the historical and epistemological limitations of the sources used by Hegel, namely A. Humboldt and C. Ritter, and also the overcoming of these limits by Hegel-influenced scientists such as P. W. Lund, R. Lepsius and K. Marx. Towards the end, I briefly compare my approach to these themes to that of Bernasconi, James and Knappik, in order to make room for a fruitful use of Hegel’s system for current anti-colonial and anti-racial debates.