Beschrijving

The book is a philosophical investigation into the ontology of social being as found within the work of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. Lukács aims to uncover the deeper structures of social existence — the ways in which individuals, society and being intertwine through historical and logical categories. He argues that understanding society philosophically requires attending to ontology (the nature of being) rather than only empirical sociology or ethics.

Lukács positions Hegel’s “genuine ontology” as a key alternative to what he considers false or superficial ontologies. He sees Hegel’s philosophy as an attempt to grasp being in its dynamic, mediated, social, historical form — not as static substance, but as process, relation and becoming. The book explores categories such as consciousness, mediation, substance and reflection in this social-being context.

Finally, the work has significance for Marxist and social theory traditions: Lukács proposes that only by grasping the ontological foundations of social being can one make sense of alienation, class society, and the possibility of freedom. In that sense it is both a rigorous metaphysical treatise and a critical foundation for social critique.