Overview of Determination
Determination
(Bestimmung) refers to the way something expresses its
essential quality through its relation to others, yet remains inwardly defined
and self-related. Hegel emphasizes that this internal quality is not merely
imposed by external forces but is intrinsic to the thing’s being—its
vocation or destiny. In contrast, constitution
captures the external side of
these relations, aspects that belong to a thing’s existence but do not stem from
its essence.