Marković’s Critique of Hegel’s Logic

Franjo Marković (1845-1914) was the first professor of philosophy at the restored University of Zagreb (1874). The manuscript of his Logic is kept at the Archives of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, and consists of the autograph indexed as XV 37/1 and six lithographed copies (a-f), the most extensive of which is indexed as 2a (approximately 820 pages). The manuscript Logic can be said to consist of two parts: the first is an introduction and the second is entitled The System of Logic. The first part is further divided into seven sections, while the second part includes eleven sections. This article discusses the sixth section of the first (introductory) part, entitled Reasons against Absolute Logic (in 2a pp. 94-119), in which Marković sets out his criticism of Hegel’s logic. First, the manuscript Logic is described, and then, Marković’s two substantial objections to Hegel are considered: first, that it is not possible, starting from one concept (the most abstract one), which would be the beginning of all other concepts, to develop the wholeness of concepts (and at the same time the totality of the whole of everything that is) without the aid of thoughts acquired by perception; and second, that the procedure of absolute logic is in itself »illogical«, i.e. contrary to the irrefutable laws of logic. Finally, it is concluded that Marković’s criticism of Hegel’s logic, which is actually metaphysics, is made exclusively from a logical viewpoint, as he does not accept Hegel’s »transformation« of logic into metaphysics. Marković’s intent to »outline« his (philosophical) position on Hegel is particularly pointed out, since numerous opponents of Hegel’s philosophising, to whom Marković himself belongs, are generally reluctant to deal with Hegel’s philosophy.