Lo spirito in alta quota: considerazioni hegeliane sul paesaggio naturale a partire dal Bericht über eine Alpenwanderung

Focusing on Hegel’s journal of a trip through the Bernese Alps in 1796, the essay aims to show that the attitude of the young philosopher toward these mountains – enhanced by romantic travel literature and landscape painting – cannot be considered as a lack of sensitivity. The paper proposes to demonstrate the philosophical importance of the journal, showing how it contains considerations which become constant themes of Hegel’s thought, particularly concerning the geological nature and the superiority of the spirit over nature. Examining the sections on geological nature in the Philosophy of Nature and his account of natural beauty in the Lectures on Aesthetics, it will be argued that the Hegelian understanding of natural landscape has not changed radically in his maturity compared to the youthful experiences described in the journal.