B. The Life-Process.

(G. L. iii. 255. Enc. 219), which consists in just such a self-maintenance of the Organism by means of its external relations. The empirical characteristic of living beings which Hegel compares to this category is the process of assimilation, by which the animal or vegetable not only maintains itself by its relation to what is external to its body, but, in that process of maintenance, actually converts it into a part of its body (G. L. iii. 258. Enc. 219).

In this connexion Hegel says that the living being “stands face to face with an inorganic nature “ (Enc. 219). This, taken literally, could not apply to the relations of the Organism under this category. All the universe is not, according to Hegel, one Organism, but it consists of nothing but Organisms, and thus no Organism could be in relation to anything inorganic, since nothing inorganic exists.

This, however, does not affect the accuracy of the category. For all that the category requires is that the Organism should stand in relation to something with which it is not in organic relation. And this condition, as we have seen, is satisfied if the Organism stands in relation to other Organisms.

In speaking of this category in the Greater Logic Hegel says that “the self-determination of the living being has the form of objective externality, and since the living being is at the same time identical with itself, it is the absolute contradiction (Widerspruch)” (G. L. iii. 256). I do not see why lie should have said this. Of course this category, like all categories from Becoming onwards, contains, synthesised in its unity, moments which if unsynthesised would contradict each other. But they do riot contradict each other when synthesised, so that the name of Contradiction is not appropriate. And, if it were appropriate to a category — which synthesised moments which contradict one another, it would be equally applicable to all categories except Being and Nothing.

In connexion with this contradiction, and the division (Entzweiung) which it involves, Hegel introduces Pain. It may be doubted whether it is worth while to carry so far the parallelism between the empirical characteristics known in biology and the characteristics of the logical category. If it were, it would seem as if Pain should rather be introduced in connexion with the inadequacy of the manifestation — a point not. yet reached.

269. The transition to the next category appears to be by the idea of Universality. In the Life-Process the Particularity of the Organism is transcended, and it is elevated to Universality, by reason of its connexion of itself with that which is external to it, while it maintains its own nature in that connexion.

Through the external Life-Process it has thus posited itself as real, universal Life, as Kind “ (G. L. iii. 259).