I don't get it and feel dumb
It's really difficult, especially if you don't speak German, because it has multiple meanings that cannot all be captured by one English word. Translators have really suffered because of it.
It can mean to lift something up, to end something, but also - in some contexts - to preserve something. In dialectics, it means that a conflict between two contradictory positions can be ended (aufgehoben), but also taken to a higher level (aufgehoben!).
Isn't this kind of intentional on Hegel's part? It means to negate the previous contradictions it arose out of and restart the dialectical process.
Oh yes, it's intentional, but it makes translation a nightmare.
It might help to point out:
"auf" can be "on, to, in, at, onto, towards, up"
And "heben" is "lift" or "lift up" or "pick up" or "heave" or some other stuff,
You'd see similar duplicity of meaning in English with a phrase like "lift up"
It could mean to "empower", or to "single out", or to literally "pick up", or to "make content" etc.
