Preface

distinguishes itself from the manner original: "Manier"; here referring to a superficial or affected style of writing that has become common for these subjects: a manner which presupposes a fixed schema and thereby categorizes the material even more externally and even more arbitrarily than the first method did. It draws parallels and, through the strangest misunderstanding, claims to have satisfied the necessity of the Concept The "Concept" (Begriff) is a central term in Hegelian philosophy, referring to the internal logical life of a subject through the mere randomness and caprice of its connections.

We saw this same arbitrariness take possession of the very content of philosophy and set out upon adventures of thought. For a time, these adventures imposed themselves upon or "impressed" genuine and honest endeavors, but otherwise they were regarded as a form of absurdity, heightened even to the point of madness. Instead of the impressive or the mad, the actual content more frequently revealed itself to be well-known