Difference between revisions of "Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel"

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'''Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel''' lived from 1770 to 1831.  Along with [[Johann Gottlieb Fichte]] and [[Friedrich Wilhelm Josef Schelling]], Hegel is considered one of the foremost representatives of the post-[[Immanuel Kant|Kantian]] German idealists. Although perhaps best known to the general public for his [[Dialectic|dialectic]] theory of history, which subsequently inspired [[Karl Marx|Marx's]] [[Historical materialism]], within the philosophical community Hegel is widely considered to be one of, if not the most significant thinker of the nineteenth century.
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'''Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel''' lived from 1770 to 1831.  He was one of the greatest of the [[German]] idealist [[philosopher]]s and was a disciple of [[Immanuel Kant]].  He insisted that [[revolution]]s were essential to human destiny and that revolutionary leaders were heroes in promoting reform.
  
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Hegel's chief works were:
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* [[Phenomenology]] of the Mind (1807)
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* Philosophy of Right (1821)
  
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== Life ==
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His most important follower was [[Karl Marx]]
  
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Hegel was born into a [[Protestant]] family, and initially held ambitions to become a clergyman. These ambitions lead him to enrol in a seminary at Tübingen, where he met Schelling and the poet [[Friedrich Hölderlin]]. After graduation, Hegel worked as a tutor for families in Bern, and later Frankfurt, where he would be reunited with Hölderlin. Initially, he devoted himself to religious and social issues, however, at around the turn of the century, he became increasingly interested in the critical philosophy of Immanuel Kant. This led Hegel to pursue an academic career in philosophy, taking up a lecturing post at the [[University of Jena]], where Schelling also taught. The two collaborated, editing the ''Critical Journal of Philosophy''. By 1806, Hegel had completed his first major work ''The Phenomenology of Spirit''. However, due to the closure of the university following Napoleon's occupation of Jena, Hegel was forced to seek work elsewhere. he briefly edited a newspaper in the nearby town of Bamberg, and then for a number of years as a headmaster and philosophy teacher in Nuremburg. After publishing ''The Science of Logic'' in 1816, Hegel was offered a post at the [[University of Heidelberg]], and became Chair of Philosophy. Shortly thereafter, in 1818, he accepted a job at the [[University of Berlin]] as a professor of philosophy. In 1830 he was decorated by Friedrich Wilhelm III, for services to [[Prussia]], however, he died months later as a result of a [[Cholera]] epidemic in Berlin.
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==Political Philosophy==
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Hegel held an extraordinarily high view of the State and thought of it as the supreme institution in the human experience. He infamously claimed that "All the worth which the human being possesses—all spiritual reality, he possesses only through the State."<ref>G. W. F. Hegel, The Philosophy of History. Translated by J. Sibree. New York: Dover Publications, 1956, 39.</ref> Hegel's view of the State stemmed from his belief that it represented the objective will of the people. Hegel, a historicist, also dismissed the idea of transcendent, universal truths. Truth could not be found at all apart from one's historical context. As he argues in his ''Philosophy of Right'':  "...every one is a son of his time; so philosophy also is its time apprehended in thoughts. It is just as foolish to fancy that any philosophy can transcend its present world, as that an individual could leap out of his time or jump over Rhodes. If a theory transgresses its time, and builds up a world as it ought to be, it has an existence merely in the unstable element of opinion, which gives room to every wandering fancy."<ref>Hegel, G. W. F. 2012. Philosophy of Right. Translated by S. W. Dyde. New York: Dover Publications, xxx.. </ref> 
  
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== Ideas ==
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In a scathing critique of the American commitment to private property rights, Hegel complained that "Universal protection for property, and a something approaching entire immunity from public burdens, are facts which are constantly held up to commendation. We have in these facts the fundamental character of the community—the endeavor of the individual after acquisition, commercial profit, and gain; the preponderance of private interest, devoting itself to that of the community only for its own advantage."<ref>G. W. F. Hegel, The Philosophy of History. Translated by J. Sibree. New York: Dover Publications, 1956, 85.</ref>
  
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Hegel attempted to elaborate a systematic ontology from a logical starting point throughout his work. The influence of Kant is notable in his idealism, a one which promotes a view of reality as a spiritual process, aimed at a final goal or purpose. Hegel posits that the nature of this process is evident through rational investigation of history. Hegel uses the term ''Geist'' (Spirit) to refer to this process, in which individual minds are unimportant, subordinated instead to the metaphysical forces in a historic dynamic driven by logic.
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For Hegel and his followers, it is imperative that we move beyond fixed ideas about the purpose of government, such as those espoused at the time of the American Founding. Though they may have been appropriate for their own time, they offer little for people today, who have progressed beyond their insights. For these reasons, Hegel can be considered one of the preliminary founders of progressivism, alongside [[Francis Bacon]], [[Auguste Comte]], [[Herbert Croly]], and Hegel's own follower, [[Karl Marx]].<ref>American Conservatism: An Encyclopedia, eds. Bruce Frohnen, Jeremy Beer, and Jeffrey O. Nelson. Wilmington, DE: ISI Books, 2006, p. 680.</ref>
  
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'''The Dialectic'''
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==Hegelian Dialectic==
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Hegel's primary object in his [[dialectic]] is to establish the existence of a logical connection between the various categories which are involved in the constitution of experience.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qbhYAAAAMAAJ|last1=McTaggart|first1=John|last2=McTaggart|first2=Ellis|title=Studies in the Hegelian Dialectic|date=1896|pages=1}}</ref>
  
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This logic is termed the "dialectic" by Hegel. He argues that each situation contains within it, inherent instabilities that make eventual conflict inevitable, this, in Hegel's eyes is the driving force behind historical change. The logic of the dialectic is applied by Hegel to the development of political, economic, and social history, with each "thesis" having an opposing "antithesis", it is the conflict between these two opposing ideas that results in an eventual "synthesis" of the two ideas. This synthesis is itself a thesis, and will therefore be challenged by an antithesis, and so the process continues until the world is entirely logical. Thus the "end of history" will come about, on a social level, when the state has overcome internal strife, and on an idealistic level, when the ''Geist'' has realized itself, and recongnised itself to be the ultimate reality.
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==See also==
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* [[George Sylvester Morris]]
  
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'''Political Philosophy'''
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==Sources==
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The New American Desk Encyclopedia, Penguin Group, 1989
  
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The ultimate goal of the historical process, in a political sense is, Hegel argues, human liberation. However, due to the metaphysical forces, which Hegel argues determine our choices, this concept is very different from those of [[John Stuart Mill|Mill]], [[John Locke|Locke]], and the [[Classical liberalism|liberal]] tradition. As opposed to these thinkers concept of [[Negative liberty]], Hegel argues that freedom can only exist once we take control of the metaphysical forces which determine our choices. Hegel instead posits a more [[Positive liberty|positive]] concept of liberty, arguing that society cannot do this if it continues to view itself as an atomized collection of individuals. Instead, individual will must be absorbed into the ''General Will'' of the collective. This will result in people coming to the conclusion that one's social duty is also in one's own self-interest. Then, and only then, will a rational community, free from conflict be realized, and it is only then, that Hegel argues, that humanity can be free.
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==References==
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{{reflist|1}}
  
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In this sense, Hegel can be seen as a successor to certain aspects of [[Jean Jacques Rousseau|Rousseauvian]] political philosophy, most notably in his belief that "freedom" and "obedience" are synonymous concepts. At the same time, work of this type can be seen as a forerunner to the twentieth century [[Communitarian]] movement.
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==External links==
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*[https://books.google.com/books?id=b7jooh9D6ewC The Phenomenology of mind]
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*[https://books.google.com/books?id=Yk9WAAAAMAAJ Philosophy of Right]
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*[https://books.google.com/books?id=SjcFAAAAIAAJ The Philosophy of History]
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*[https://archive.org/details/lecturesonphilo03hegegoog Lectures on the Philosophy of Religion], Volume 1
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*[https://books.google.com/books?id=MOLWAAAAMAAJ Lectures on the Philosophy of Religion], Volume 2
  
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== Influence ==
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich}}
  
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'''Right Hegelianism'''
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[[Category:German Philosophers]]
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The "Right Hegelians" were a group of philosophers who interpreted Hegel's ideas in a manner that supported political conservatism, and Protestant orthodoxy. These thinkers argued that advanced European societies as they existed in the nineteenth century were the zenith of human civilization. Moreover, some of them argued that the Prussian state, as it existed, was heading toward the ultimate goal of the historical process. As such, Right Hegelianism generally emphasises comformity, subordination of the individual to the state, capitalism, and religious conservatism.
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'''Left Hegelianism'''
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These are contrasted with the "Left Hegelians", or as they are frequently known the "Young Hegelians". The Left Hegelians interpreted Hegel's work in a revolutionary sense, arguing that the legitimacy of the state as being almost entirely reliant upon religious tenets. As such, they attempted to undermine what they felt was a corrupt and despotic regime. Key members of this movement included [[Ludwig Feuerbach]], and Karl Marx. The Left Hegelians, are therefore generally associated with an advocacy of democracy, non-conformity, and atheism.
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'''Hegel and Marx'''
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Perhaps Hegel's most famous disciple, Marx inverted Hegel, replacing his "dialectical idealism" with a dialectic driven by material forces and economic realities - a system that Marx termed "dialectical materialism". Marx had initially been influenced by the Left Hegelians, however, he later turned on this group, and argued that religion, which they felt was the basis of the state's power, was in fact a mere smokescreen to obscure the true basis of the establishment's power, which Marx argued were, in fact, their control of capital, money, and the means of production. What is perhaps worth noting is that most twentieth century Marxists, such as [[Antonio Gramsci]], [[Jean-Paul Sartre]], and the [[Frankfurt School]] all return to Hegel's emphasis on ideas within the historical process.
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== Key Works ==
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*''The Phenemonology of Spirit''
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*''The Science of Logic''
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*''The Philosophy of Right''
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*''The Philosophy of History''
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==External Links==
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*[http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/hegel/index.htm Works by Hegel at ''Marxists.org'']
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*[http://wiki.hegel.net/index.php/Main_Page Hegel Wiki]]
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*[http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/hegel/ Hegel at ''The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'']
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich}}
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[[Category:Philosophers]]
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Revision as of 15:35, August 29, 2018

Hegel.jpg

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel lived from 1770 to 1831. He was one of the greatest of the German idealist philosophers and was a disciple of Immanuel Kant. He insisted that revolutions were essential to human destiny and that revolutionary leaders were heroes in promoting reform.

Hegel's chief works were:

His most important follower was Karl Marx

Political Philosophy

Hegel held an extraordinarily high view of the State and thought of it as the supreme institution in the human experience. He infamously claimed that "All the worth which the human being possesses—all spiritual reality, he possesses only through the State."[1] Hegel's view of the State stemmed from his belief that it represented the objective will of the people. Hegel, a historicist, also dismissed the idea of transcendent, universal truths. Truth could not be found at all apart from one's historical context. As he argues in his Philosophy of Right: "...every one is a son of his time; so philosophy also is its time apprehended in thoughts. It is just as foolish to fancy that any philosophy can transcend its present world, as that an individual could leap out of his time or jump over Rhodes. If a theory transgresses its time, and builds up a world as it ought to be, it has an existence merely in the unstable element of opinion, which gives room to every wandering fancy."[2]

In a scathing critique of the American commitment to private property rights, Hegel complained that "Universal protection for property, and a something approaching entire immunity from public burdens, are facts which are constantly held up to commendation. We have in these facts the fundamental character of the community—the endeavor of the individual after acquisition, commercial profit, and gain; the preponderance of private interest, devoting itself to that of the community only for its own advantage."[3]

For Hegel and his followers, it is imperative that we move beyond fixed ideas about the purpose of government, such as those espoused at the time of the American Founding. Though they may have been appropriate for their own time, they offer little for people today, who have progressed beyond their insights. For these reasons, Hegel can be considered one of the preliminary founders of progressivism, alongside Francis Bacon, Auguste Comte, Herbert Croly, and Hegel's own follower, Karl Marx.[4]

Hegelian Dialectic

Hegel's primary object in his dialectic is to establish the existence of a logical connection between the various categories which are involved in the constitution of experience.[5]

See also

Sources

The New American Desk Encyclopedia, Penguin Group, 1989

References

  1. ↑ G. W. F. Hegel, The Philosophy of History. Translated by J. Sibree. New York: Dover Publications, 1956, 39.
  2. ↑ Hegel, G. W. F. 2012. Philosophy of Right. Translated by S. W. Dyde. New York: Dover Publications, xxx..
  3. ↑ G. W. F. Hegel, The Philosophy of History. Translated by J. Sibree. New York: Dover Publications, 1956, 85.
  4. ↑ American Conservatism: An Encyclopedia, eds. Bruce Frohnen, Jeremy Beer, and Jeffrey O. Nelson. Wilmington, DE: ISI Books, 2006, p. 680.
  5. ↑ (1896) Studies in the Hegelian Dialectic, 1. 

External links

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