I wish to present the reader with some clarifications concerning the essays here pre-sented. They are in a conceptual history perspective and focus on Hegelian texts in order to show that it is possible to find in them an Aufhebung not only of sover-eignty but also of those modern concepts from which it stemmed. Such overcoming clearly shows in the concept of constitution as an articulated and plural totality. The essays also try to clarify the role of philosophy for society, also in relation to social sciences. If the debate may be summarized in the formula “through Hegel, beyond Hegel”, the horizon which thus opens up in the present time may be de-scribed as a new federalism.
