THE UNITY OF IDENTITY AND DIFFERENCE AS THE ...

interpretation assumes that “is” always expresses the relationship of strict identity, a
relationship that can be expressed by the mathematical sign “=.” On this interpretation,
the contradiction inherent in judgment stems from the fact that the relations of strict
identity both does and does not hold between S and P, between the two terms presented
in the judgment.
This interpretation fails to recognize (1) that for Hegel the copula expresses a
range of meanings, depending upon the form of judgment in which it appears, and (2)
that, moreover, Hegel almost never uses the copula to express the relation of strict
identity. On Russell’s interpretation, Hegel holds that the copula expresses strict identity
in every judgment. This radically misconstrues Hegel’s conception of judgment.
In his discussion of judgment in the Science of Logic, Hegel distinguishes the
different forms of judgment in terms of the various possible meanings of the copula.
Hegel considers four basic kinds of judgment, including (1) the judgments of existence,
(2) the judgments of reflection, (3) the judgments of necessity, and (4) the judgments of
the notion. Hegel characterizes each form of judgment in terms of the conception of the
copula that it employs, and he construes the dialectical progression of this discussion as a
progressive determination of the meaning of the copula itself.
Speaking of the immanent development that characterizes his discussion of
judgment, Hegel says: “this sublation of the judgment coincides with the advance in the
determination of the copula.” 123 The phrase “sublation of judgment” refers to the
dialectical progression through the various forms of judgment, a progression that stems
from the basic “contradiction” in the structure of judgment. Hegel claims that this
progression coincides with the “advance in the determination of the copula.” In other
123 Science of Logic, p. 649.
118