Double Session: Philosophical Anthropology I & II (Honenberger, Michelini, Davis, Moss, Blad, Wasmuth)

My point of departure is the surprising similarity between Hegel and Plessner on many characters of the living organism – particularly with respect to the notion of "organisation" in plants and animals. The thesis I advocate concerns their general theories of biological individuality and is articulated in the following points: 1) For Hegel and Plessner the difference between plants and animals consists in the different levels of development of the "principle" of the organism's dynamic self-definition. 2) This "principle" is similar for both philosophers, because it is based on two cognate categories, i.e. "boundary" (Grenze) and "deficiency" (Mangel). 3) Hegel and Plessner's basic conceptions of life – often seen as divergent – on close scrutiny have a great deal in common.