This chapter studies the role of the concept of degree or stage (Stufe) in Schelling’s and Hegel’s philosophies of nature. I claim that both philosophers engage with this concept in two antithetical ways : Schelling accentuates the importance of the notion of degree by conferring it a structural function in his philosophy of nature, while Hegel, by contrast, proposes a radical critique of it based on his theory of the concept. In doing so, I suggest that Hegel consciously uses the word “degree” in a modified sense to criticize Schelling’s philosophy of nature. I take thus the concept of degree to be an indicator of the profound differences between Schelling’s and Hegel’s systems of nature.