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 – nourished by romantic travel literature and landscape painting – cannot be regarded as lacking sensitivity. The paper proposes to demonstrate the philosophicalimportance of this journal, showing how it contains considerations that were to become constant themes in Hegel's thought, particularly those concerning geologicalnature and the spirit's superiority over nature. In examining the sections on geologicalnature in his Philosophy of Nature and his account of natural beauty in his Lectures onAesthetics, the author argues that Hegel's understanding of natural landscape did notchange radically in his maturity since his youthful experiences described in the journal. [Publisher's text]