III.1. Subjectivity

At first, the Notion is formal Notion—the Notion at the beginning, or Notion which is as immediate.—In immediate unity its distinctness or positedness is at first itself just simple and is only a show, so that the moments of the distinctness are immediately the totality of the Notion and are only the Notion as such.

But secondly it is absolute negativity; it therefore divides and posits itself as the negative (or Other) of itself. Now at this point the Notion is immediate as yet, and therefore this process of positing or distinguishing has the determination that the moments are indifferent to each other and that each is for itself; in this division its unity is no more than external relation. As this relation of its moments, which are posited as independent and indifferent, it is the Judgment.

Thirdly, although the Judgment contains the unity of the Notion which had vanished into its independent moments, this unity is not posited. It becomes posited by means of the dialectic movement of the Judgment (which hereby has become the Syllogism) to the completely posited Notion, since in the Syllogism not only are its moments posited as independent extremes, but also their mediating unity is posited.

But this unity itself as uniting mean, and the moments as independent extremes, are immediately opposed to one another; and this contradictory relation which occurs in the formal Syllogism transcends itself, and the consummation of the Notion passes over into the unity of totality,—and the Subjectivity of the Notion into its Objectivity.