Section 22
Original German
22 Der an und für sich seyende Wille ist wahrhaft unendlich, weil sein Gegenstand er selbst, hiemit derselbe für ihn nicht ein Anderes noch Schranke, sondern er darinn vielmehr nur in sich zurückgekehrt ist. Er ist ferner nicht bloße Möglichkeit, Anlage, Vermögen (potentia), sondern das Wirklich-Unendliche (infinitum actu), weil das Daseyn des Begriffs, oder seine gegenständliche Aeußerlichkeit das Innerliche selbst ist.
Wenn man daher nur vom freyen Willen, als solchem, spricht, ohne die Bestimmung, daß er der an und für sich freye Wille ist, so spricht man nur von der Anlage der Freyheit, oder von dem natürlichen und endlichen Willen (§. 11.) und ebendamit, der Worte und der Meynung unerachtet, nicht vom freyen Willen. — Indem der Verstand das Unendliche nur als Negatives und damit als ein Jenseits faßt, meynt er dem Unendlichen um so mehr Ehre anzuthun, je mehr er es von sich weg in die Weite hinausschiebt und als ein Fremdes von sich entfernt. Im freyen Willen hat das wahrhaft Unendliche Wirklichkeit und Gegenwart, — er selbst ist diese in sich gegenwärtige Idee.
Musean translation
Machine-assisted Musean translation made directly from Hegel's German in the Berlin Nicolai first edition, dated 1821. Complete preface, introduction and sections 1–360, including the author's remarks and notes; no later Gans additions.
22 The will that is in and for itself is truly infinite, because its object is itself, and therefore this object is neither an other nor a limit for it; rather, in this object it has only returned into itself. Further, it is not mere possibility, predisposition, or faculty (potentiality), but the actually infinite (infinite in actuality), because the existence of the concept, or its objective externality, is the inward itself.
Thus, if one speaks merely of free will as such, without the determination that it is the will free in and for itself, one speaks only of the predisposition to freedom, or of the natural and finite will (§ 11), and precisely for this reason, despite one’s words and intention, not of free will. Since the understanding grasps the infinite only as negative, and therefore as a beyond, it imagines that it does the infinite all the more honor the further it pushes it away into the distance and removes it from itself as something alien. In the free will, the truly infinite has actuality and presence—the will itself is this Idea present within itself.
Plain English translation
Independent machine-assisted Plain English translation made directly from the German first-edition source, not from the Musean edition or an existing English translation. Complete preface, introduction and sections 1–360 with the author's remarks and notes.
22 The will that is in and for itself is truly infinite. Its object is itself, so that object is not something other or a limit for it. Rather, in that object it has only returned to itself. Nor is it merely possibility, a predisposition, a capacity (potentiality), but the actually infinite (infinity in act). This is because the concept's existence, or its objective externality, is the inner itself.
So if we speak only of free will as such, without specifying that it is free in and for itself, we are speaking only of the predisposition toward freedom, or of the natural and finite will (§ 11). Despite the words and the opinion involved, we are not speaking of free will. The understanding grasps the infinite only as something negative and therefore as a beyond. It thinks it honors the infinite all the more, the further it pushes it away into the distance and removes it from itself as something foreign. In the free will, the truly infinite has actual reality and presence. The will itself is this Idea present within itself.
About this section
Section 22 is part of Elements of the Philosophy of Right by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. This page sets the German original beside 2 direct-source translations, so any line can be checked against the source. It is section 24 of 362 in the work, which is kept in the European tradition.
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