Nascita naturale e "seconda nascita" in Hegel

Natural and «Second Birth» in Hegel Hegel represents a significant exception to the dominant absence of theoretical reflections on birth, an absence which, in the twentieth century, was denounced in particular by Hannah Arendt, Hans Saner and Peter Sloterdijk. Hegel’s theoretical proposal focuses on three fundamental aspects of birth. Firstly, the relationship between mother and unborn child in intra-uterine life and shortly after birth, with the related issue of the ontological status of the embryo. Secondly, the interpretation of natural birth through the category of the «unheard jump (ungeheurer Sprung)». Finally, the investigation of the «double birth», with particular attention for the «second birth», i.e., the birth that (thanks to education) takes place at the spiritual and ethical level. The Hegelian philosophy of birth has its roots in his rich and multi-faceted philosophy of family. The issue of birth also allows us to grasp, from a peculiar perspective, the dialectic dimension of Hegel’s thought and his conception of the relationship between «natural» and «ethical».