Shedding Odysseus's Hegelian Skin: A New Model for Philosophical Moves

DEMİR B.

SYNTHESIS PHILOSOPHICA, vol.40, no.2, pp.187-203, 2025 (AHCI, Scopus) identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 40 Issue: 2
  • Publication Date: 2025
  • Doi Number: 10.21464/sp40201
  • Journal Name: SYNTHESIS PHILOSOPHICA
  • Journal Indexes: Arts and Humanities Citation Index (AHCI), Scopus, IBZ Online, Philosopher's Index, Political Science Complete, Directory of Open Access Journals
  • Page Numbers: pp.187-203
  • Hacettepe University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

Adorno and Horkheimer revealed that Hegel had dragged thought into a labyrinth with no exit with his myth of the Absolute, and saw Odysseus as an archetype of this tendency of confinement. It has become nearly impossible to talk about the progress of Odysseus in philosophy without emphasising its similarities with those of Hegel. In this article, I will first set out the problems with Hegels' answer to the question "What path is philosophy taking?". Afterwards, I will show that an interpretation of Odysseus that opposes the archetype which Adorno and Horkheimer identify with Hegel is possible and how such an interpretation could create a new model for philosophical moves.