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88

In the contract, I acquire a property on account of the particular character of the thing, and at the same time, in accordance with its inner universality, in part as to its value, in part as arising from the property of the other party. |91| Through the arbitrary will of the other party, a false semblance concerning this can be brought before me, such that the contract, as the free mutual consent of an exchange concerning this thing, in its immediate singularity, has its correctness, while the side of the universal existing in itself is lacking in it. (The infinite judgment, according to its positive expression, or identical meaning. See the Encyclopaedia of the Philosophical Sciences, § 121.)1

  1. Encyclopaedia, 3rd ed. § 173 ↩︎

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One response to “88”

  1. Hegel (Simple) Avatar
    Hegel (Simple)

    § 88: How fraud works

    When I buy something, I want two things. I want this particular thing. And I want it at its value. Also, it should really belong to the one who sells it to me.

    This is exactly where fraud strikes.

    An example: Someone sells an old horse. Beforehand, he has filed down its teeth so that it looks younger. The buyer looks the horse over. He takes it for a test ride. He agrees and pays.

    What is correct about this?

    Both agreed freely. It was about exactly this horse. So far, everything is in order.

    What is missing?

    The value is wrong. The horse is worth much less than the buyer believes. The seller has shown him a false semblance. Only this remains: This horse is this horse. The universal, the true value, has vanished from the deal.

    Summary: In fraud, the deal looks correct from the outside. Both have agreed. But the value is missing because one deceived the other.

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