Forms of Life: Freedom and Inertia in Rahel Jaeggi’s Progress and Regression

Rahel Jaeggi says of her book: “The Hegelian idea of a dialectically self-enriching experiential learning process thus emerges as central to the entire project.” I examine and compare Jaeggi’s own uptake of Hegelian themes and consider them in light of her acceptance of Philip Kitcher’s distinction between ‘progress from’ and ‘progress towards’ conceptions of progress. Although there are some obvious differences between Jaeggi’s and Hegel’s conception of progress, I conclude by arguing that her way of taking things gets at the deeper roots of Hegel’s views as a non-teleological conception of history that brings into relief what is immanent to human agency.