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Identity and Difference in Heidegger, Hegel

12:46888 summary words · ~4 min readEnglishBy The Abstract MachineTranscribed Sep 1, 2026

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Summary

True identity is neither a static formal tautology (A=A) nor a mere abstraction, but an ontological relation of belonging together between thinking and being, grounded dialectically in Hegel's becoming and ontologically in Heidegger's event of appropriation (Ereignis).

It challenges formal logic's reduction of identity to static equivalence, revealing how modernity's computational mindset misses the essential ontological relation between human thinking and Being.

Section summaries

From Dasein to the Ontological Copula 'A is A'

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The speaker recaps Dasein's inauthentic identity from 'Being and Time', where the self is proximately lost in the everyday social world of 'das Man' (the 'they'). Shifting thirty years later to Heidegger's Freiburg lecture 'Identity and Difference', the analysis examines the logical formula of identity. Heidegger argues that the standard formula 'A = A' is better articulated ontologically as 'A is A', where the 'is' reveals that an entity is self-same via an internal relation mediated by 'with'.

In Being and Time, the initial identity of Dasein is dominated by 'das Man' rather than authentic selfhood.
The formula 'A is A' reveals identity as an ontological relationship of an entity 'with itself' rather than a flat mathematical equivalence.

Establishes the core ontological problem of identity moving from logic to Being.

Hegel's Dialectical Identity and the Ground of Becoming

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The speaker introduces G.W.F. Hegel's concept of identity from the Science of Logic. For Hegel, essence is reflection into self that necessarily incorporates its own external negation and difference. Identity devoid of negation is merely a frozen, abstract law of the understanding. True self-identity dynamically unfolds in the ground of becoming, demonstrating that identity and difference are not two separate entities but mutually constitutive moments of a dialectical motion.

Hegel defines genuine self-identity as an ongoing reflection mediated by internal and external negation.
Abstract identity (A=A) isolates a static moment and fails to capture the dynamic reality of becoming.

Provides the essential Hegelian framework needed to contrast dialectical mediation with Heideggerian appropriation.

Parmenides, Ereignis, and the Openness of the Abyss

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Returning to Heidegger, the video connects identity to Parmenides' fragment stating that thought and being are the same, interpreted here as their mutual belonging together. To explain where thinking and being meet, the speaker draws on Daniela Vallega-Neu's etymological analysis of 'Ereignis' (event of appropriation), deconstructing 'Er-' (setting in motion) and 'eignis' (related to eigen, ownness/authenticity). This appropriation occurs not in theoretical or everyday cognition, but in the openness of the abyss (Abgrund).

Parmenides' fragment on thought and being is interpreted by Heidegger as an ontological co-belonging.
Ereignis roots identity in an event of making one's own (eigen) located in the abyss between everyday and theoretical thought.

Deconstructs the central Heideggerian concept of Ereignis and its etymological roots.

Contrasting Hegelian Becoming with Heideggerian Ereignis

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The lecture directly contrasts Hegel's ground of becoming with Heidegger's Ereignis. While Hegel resolves identity and difference through dialectical movement and mediation between being-in-itself and negation, Heidegger conceives the essence of identity as an intrinsic property of Ereignis. Heidegger's ground is an abyss (Abgrund) or clearing of nothingness where thought and being are appropriated into essential unity, avoiding the conceptual systematization of Hegelian dialectics.

Hegel's ground is a dialectical progression of becoming through negation.
Heidegger's ground is an 'Abgrund' (abyss/clearing) where thought is appropriated by being outside of conceptual mediation.

Delivers the core comparative thesis between the two philosophers' treatment of identity.

The Task of Thinking vs. Computational Calculation

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The speaker concludes by noting Heidegger's acknowledgement of how difficult this non-conceptual unity is to grasp, emphasizing the need to leave behind theoretical philosophy for the patient 'task of thinking'. Heidegger notes that meditating on the relation of thought and being has taken millennia and will require deep historical patience. This essential thinking is contrasted with modern computational machines, which execute thousands of relational operations per second while remaining ontologically inessential to the truth of Being.

Essential thinking requires abandoning rigid theoretical concepts in favor of meditative patience.
Modern computational speed produces vast relational calculations that remain entirely inessential to the ontological question of identity.

Summarizes the practical and historical stakes of Heidegger's critique against modern calculative technology.

Key points

The Ontological Shift from 'A = A' to 'A is A' — Heidegger reinterprets the logical principle of identity from a flat equation (A=A) to the ontological copula 'A is A'. The 'is' signifies that every entity relates to itself through internal sameness mediated by the preposition 'with'.
Hegelian Identity as Mediated Self-Negation — Hegel posits that essence is reflected self-relation containing its own external negation within the ground of becoming. Abstract identity treats identity and difference as separate, whereas genuine identity dynamically integrates its opposite.
Ereignis as the Open Abyss of Belonging Together — Drawing on Parmenides, Heidegger argues thinking and being belong together within the event of appropriation (Ereignis). Unlike Hegelian dialectical synthesis, this mutual appropriation occurs within an open clearing or abyss (Abgrund) beyond both everyday and theoretical concepts.
Essential Thinking Versus Computational Thought — Heidegger contrasts essential, meditative thinking—which requires patience and historical time to dwell in the openness of Being—with computational thinking, which executes thousands of rapid relations that remain ontologically inessential.

“The essence lights up in itself or is mere reflection and therefore only self- relation not as immediate but as reflected and that reflex relation is self identity” — Hegel (quoted by speaker)

“The appropriation appropriates being to their essential togetherness” — Martin Heidegger (quoted by speaker)

AI-generated from the transcript. May contain errors.

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[Music]

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so this is a continuation to the

0:19

analysis of

0:21

identity through a hiigaran uh

0:24

perspective in being in time Herer makes

0:28

explicit to an extent the identity of

0:31

dasign and for those of you who are not

0:34

hiigarans or who have not read uh been

0:37

in time D sign more or less refers to

0:40

the human uh to the identity of

0:44

men so the identity of men what he calls

0:47

the who of dine is proximately and for

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the most part not

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itself dine is everyone and no one at

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the same

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time the sign is world the sign self is

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proximately given by the world the day

1:02

what he calls

1:04

dasman now 30 years later haiger gave a

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lecture at the University of fryberg

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where he traded the topic of identity

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and

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difference so heiger Begins by telling

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us that the principle of identity

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already presupposes the meaning of

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identity

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itself it is no surprise that he tells

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us that a principle of thought is a

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principle of

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being the equation a equals a rather

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tells us or the better formulation would

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be that a is

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a and so the s in between a is a is an

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ontological

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statement every a is itself the same

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with

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itself and it is that with itself that

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heiger emphasizes

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furthermore sameness implies a relation

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that is mediated by the preposition

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with so so there is a good point to

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bring hegel's identity uh concept of

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identity uh into the

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analysis Hegel

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says quote the essence lights up in

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itself or is mere

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reflection and therefore only self-

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relation not as immediate but as

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reflected and that reflex relation is

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self identity end

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quote so now essentially what Hegel is

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saying

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is um and just to unpack that that quote

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a little bit

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um hego defines

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Essence as uh essential as being in

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itself only to the extent that it

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contains that it has in itself it's

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negative so heelan self-identity is a

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reflection

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mediated of being in itself with its

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external

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negation and this is the difference that

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I was referring to the heiger does not

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make explicit but hego makes this very

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explicit that identity without without

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its external negation with without its

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difference without its otherness without

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its opposite is not it's not self it's

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not true identity it's not it's only an

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abstract a part of

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identity and so hego goes on to say that

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this is first discoverable in the ground

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of

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becoming and

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so uh for hego we know that

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everything is in motion everything is in

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a process in a in a constant state of

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becoming and so identity is no no

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different so this dialectical process

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gives rise to the new absolute

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identity and this is only a per a

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partial moment of identity this is an

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abstract identity in the sense that it

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only emphasizes a frozen moment in in

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the dialectical motion of

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identity true self identity is always in

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motion and contains its mediation it's

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negation so the equation a equals a

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taken as a maximum is only an abstract

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law of it understanding uh Hegel tells

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us Hegel says that if someone were to

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ask a question of how is it that

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identity comes to

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difference uh they would be assuming

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that identity

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is an abstract identity uh and to

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emphasize identity without difference is

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treating them as two separate

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entities so again just to

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recap the ground for for hego

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is the the the ground of becoming where

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where identity and difference unfold

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where identity with its

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negation goes into the dialectical

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motion and and its identity it's process

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of becoming

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unfolds so back to

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Hyer he tells us that permen saying

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quote thought and being are the same end

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quote requires that we think of

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sameness as a belonging

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together thought and being

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belong

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together so if thinking and being belong

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together where or how do they

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meet now Hyer tells us that the

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encounter the way that they encounter

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each other is in the event of

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appropriation or uh uh in German this is

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aess

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ress so what is the event what is the

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event of appropriation

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and here I'm going to use the analysis

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by danela VGA from University of

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Oregon she tells us that the word for

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the event of appropriation comes from

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the German Arness as we just mentioned

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and if we break this word down into two

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separate

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words the first part of it ER signifies

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begin in motion and Agnes is related to

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the word word

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Anan as in uh the anen uh the the proper

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the onus uh the the

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same Ian that haiger has used in been in

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time for authenticity or that has been

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translated into English as authenticity

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or

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inauthenticity so following Vega's

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analysis she tells us that the openness

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of the event is where the truth of being

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needs to be thought

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so in other words the truth of

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being is something to be found in the

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space in the

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openness

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between everyday thinking and

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theoretical

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thinking and so the thinking that

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addresses that that openness he calls

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that open is the abyss is precisely

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where thought will be appropriated by by

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being hence the event of a uh the event

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of

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appropriation and so here we we can

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already see that thinking and

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being so back to the lecture on identity

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and difference so what does the event

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have to do with

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identity Iger tells us that quote the

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appropriation

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appropriates being to their essential

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togetherness uh the essential

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togetherness of being and thought end

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quote H concludes that it should be

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clear that being belongs together with

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thinking which calls your priation and

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this where we're just making reference

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to quote the essence of identity is a

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property of the event of appropriation

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and quot

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quot and as we were saying before the

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heelan ground of becoming is similar to

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the event of the event of appropriation

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where thought belongs together with

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being and identity shows

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itself however the heeling ground is a

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much simpler dialectical becoming of

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being in itself and negation

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whereas the event the events

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appropriation is the OB

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best the openness the nothing the

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nothingness between thought and being as

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the ground of

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beings now if you're as confused as I am

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as far as as far as what

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heiger uh means

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by the being uh thought and

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being uh being the same merging into

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Unity

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in the event of appropriation in the

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best in the

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nothingness um Hyer

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acknowledges the

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confusion uh he says towards the end of

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of the

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lecture that this thought this new way

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of conceptualizing this new way of

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understanding not conceptualizing

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because again that is referring back to

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Concepts which are

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static abstract identity is but this new

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way of thinking not even this new way of

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philosophizing hyar says we need to

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leave theoretical philosophical and

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everyday thinking behind we need to

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start the task of

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thinking so in this new way of

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thinking the identity of being in

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thought that happens in the openness and

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the the truth of

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being this is going to take this is

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going to need some time to

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F edigar says that it took more than

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2,000 years to than the simple mediation

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of the identity between thought and

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being

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so this is not something that we are

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going to understand one day but in any

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case

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heiger wants to make the point that this

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is in any case this is already the the

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beginning

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process and

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so it is it is a crucial it is a crucial

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step towards the

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future so in conclusion Hyer has told us

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about the unity the mediation the

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identity between thought and

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being and this gets expressed in the

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event of appropriation were thought and

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being reached out to each other and this

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there space this is the space where we

11:55

may grasp the anthological and anch law

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that says a a is

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a and this might take time to be

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understood the time for essential

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thinking is completely different from

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the time of computational thinking that

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puls Us in all sorts of

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directions and here heidger says after

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all quote today the computer calculates

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thousands of relations a second end

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quote and yet every single one of them

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is absolutely

12:28

inessential o

12:30

[Music]

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