Overview of Constitution

Constitution (Beschaffenheit) designates the way a thing is determined in relation to another – it is the external side of a thing’s determinacy, how it appears and behaves in a field of relations. Unlike determination, which expresses the inner character of a thing as something in itself, constitution reveals how this inner character necessarily expresses itself outwardly, becoming intelligible only through its relations to others.

Hegel shows how a thing’s constitution is not something added from the outside; it is the necessary way in which its being-in-itself is also a being-for-other. This relational character implies that things are not closed, self-contained units, but open and mediated processes. Constitution therefore marks a critical turning point in Hegel’s logic, where the opposition between what a thing intrinsically is and its relation to others begins to break down.