Hegelianism is a philosophy developed by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel which can be summed up by a favorite motto by Hegel, "the rational alone is real," which means that all reality is capable of being expressed in rational categories. Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence knowledge truth beauty justice validity mind and language His goal was to reduce reality to a more synthetic unity within the system of transcendental idealism. Transcendental idealism is a doctrine founded by German philosopher Immanuel Kant in the eighteenth century.
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Life and writings of Hegel
Hegel was born in Stuttgart, Germany in 1770 and died in Berlin, Germany in 1831. Stuttgart (ˈʃtʊtgaɐ̯t is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. Year 1770 ( MDCCLXX) was a Common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting on Friday Berlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. Year 1831 ( MDCCCXXXI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a After studying theology at Tübingen he devoted himself successively to the study of contemporary philosophy and to the cultivation of the Greek classics. Theology is the study of a god or the gods from a religious perspective Tübingen, a traditional University town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, is situated 30 km (19 miles southwest of Stuttgart, on a ridge between The term ancient Greece refers to the period of Greek history lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca After about seven years spent as a private tutor in various places, he began his career as a university professor in 1801. Year 1801 ( MDCCCI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting on Tuesday His first appointment was at Jena. Jena (pronunciation ˈjeːna is a university City in central Germany on the river Saale. After an intermission of a year in which he spent as newspaper editor at Bamberg, and a short term as rector of a gymnasium at Nuremberg, he was made professor of philosophy at Heidelberg in 1816, whence he was transferred to the University of Berlin in 1818. Bamberg is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in Upper Franconia on the river Regnitz, close to its confluence with the river Main Heidelberg is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. As of 2006 over 140000 people live within the city's area Year 1816 ( MDCCCXVI) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Year 1818 ( MDCCCXVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Common Hegel's principal works are his "Logic" (Wissenschaft der Logik, 1816), his "Phenomenology of Spirit" (Phänomenologie des Geistes, 1807), his "Encyclopedia" (Encyklopädie der philosophischen Wissenschaften, 1817), and his Philosophy of History (Vorlesungen uber die Philosophie der Geschichte, 1820). Year 1807 ( MDCCCVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Year 1817 ( MDCCCXVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Year 1820 ( MDCCCXX) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year His works were collected and published by Rosenkranz in 19 vols. , 1832-42, second edition 1840-54.
Method
Hegel's method in philosophy consists in following out the triadic development (Entwicklung) in each concept and in each thing. Thus, he hopes, philosophy will not contradict experience, but will give to the data of experience the philosophical, that is, the ultimately true, explanation. If, for instance, we wish to know what liberty is, we take that concept where we first find it, in the unrestrained action of the savage, who does not feel the need of repressing any thought, feeling, or tendency to act. Liberty, the freedom to act or believe without being stopped by unnecessary force Next, we find that the savage has given up this freedom in exchange for its opposite, the restraint, or, as he considers it, the tyranny, of civilization and law. In modern usage a tyrant is a single ruler holding absolute power over a State or within an Organization. Thirdly, in the citizen under the rule of law, we find the third stage of development, namely liberty in a higher and a fuller sense than that in which the savage possessed it, the liberty to do and to say and to think many things which were beyond the power of the savage. In this triadic process we remark that the second stage is the direct opposite, the annihilation, or at least the sublation, of the first. Sublation is an English term used to translate Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel 's German term Aufhebung. We remark also that the third stage is the first returned to itself in a higher, truer, richer, and fuller form. The three stages are, therefore, styled:
- in itself (An-sich)
- out of itself (Anderssein)
- in and for itself (An-und-für-sich).
These three stages are found succeeding one another throughout the whole realm of thought and being, from the most abstract logical process up to the most complicated concrete activity of organized mind in the succession of states or the production of systems of philosophy. Logic is the study of the principles of valid demonstration and Inference.
Doctrine of development
In logic - which, according to Hegel, is really metaphysic - we have to deal with the process of development applied to reality in its most abstract form. Metaphysics is the branch of Philosophy investigating principles of reality transcending those of any particular science According to Hegel, in logic, we deal in concepts robbed of their empirical content: in logic we are discussing the process in vacuo, so to speak. Thus, at the very beginning of Hegel's study of reality, he finds the logical concept of being. Now, being is not a static concept according to Hegel, as Aristotle supposed it was. Aristotle (Greek Aristotélēs) (384 BC – 322 BC was a Greek philosopher a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. It is essentially dynamic, because it tends by its very nature to pass over into nothing, and then to return to itself in the higher concept, becoming. For Aristotle, there was nothing more certain than that being equaled being, or, in other words, that being is identical with itself, that everything is what it is. Hegel does not deny this; but, he adds, it is equally certain that being tends to become its opposite, nothing, and that both are united in the concept becoming. For instance, the truth about this table, for Aristotle, is that it is a table. For Hegel, the equally important truth is that it was a tree, and it "will be" ashes. The whole truth, for Hegel, is that the tree became a table and will become ashes. Thus, becoming, not being, is the highest expression of reality. It is also the highest expression of thought because then only do we attain the fullest knowledge of a thing when we know what it was, what it is, and what it will be-in a word, when we know the history of its development.
In the same way as "being" and "nothing" develop into the higher concept becoming, so, farther on in the scale of development, life and mind appear as the third terms of the process and are in turn are developed into higher forms of themselves. (It is interesting here to note that Aristotle saw "being" as superior to "becoming", because anything which is still becoming something else is imperfect. Hence, God, for Aristotle, is perfect because He never changes, but is eternally complete. ) But one cannot help asking what is it that develops or is developed? Its name, Hegel answers, is different in each stage. In the lowest form it is "being", higher up it is "life", and in still higher form it is "mind". The only thing always present is the process (das Werden). We may, however, call the process by the name of "spirit" (Geist) or "idea" (Begriff). We may even call it God, because at least in the third term of every triadic development the process is God.
Categorization of philosophies
Division of philosophy
The first and most wide-reaching consideration of the process of spirit, God, or the idea, reveals to us the truth that the idea must be studied (1) in itself; this is the subject of logic or metaphysics; (2) out of itself, in nature; this is the subject of the philosophy of nature; and (3) in and for itself, as mind; this is the subject of the philosophy of mind (Geistesphilosophie). Nature, in the broadest sense is equivalent to the natural world, physical universe, material world or material universe. MIND ( Moving In New Directions) (est 1975 is an alternative education high school in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Philosophy of nature
Passing over the rather abstract considerations by which Hegel shows in his "Logik" the process of the idea-in-itself through being to becoming, and finally through essence to notion, we take up the study of the development of the idea at the point where it enters into otherness in nature. In nature the idea has lost itself, because it has lost its unity and is splintered, as it were, into a thousand fragments. But the loss of unity is only apparent, because in reality the idea has merely concealed its unity. Studied philosophically, nature reveals itself as so many successful attempts of the idea to emerge out of the state of otherness and present itself to us as a better, fuller, richer idea, namely, spirit, or mind. Mind is, therefore, the goal of nature. It is also the truth of nature. For whatever is in nature is realized in a higher form in the mind which emerges from nature.
Philosophy of mind
The philosophy of mind begins with the consideration of the individual, or subjective, mind. It is soon perceived, however, that individual, or subjective, mind is only the first stage, the in-itself stage, of mind. The next stage is objective mind, or mind objectified in law, morality, and the State. This is mind in the condition of out-of-itself. There follows the condition of absolute mind, the state in which mind rises above all the limitations of nature and instituitions, and is subjected to itself alone in art, religion, and philosophy. For the essence of mind is freedom, and its development must consist in breaking away from the restrictions imposed on it in it otherness by nature and human institutions. Freedom, or the idea of being free is a broad concept that
Philosophy of history
Hegel's philosophy of the State, his theory of history, and his account of absolute mind are the most interesting portions of his philosophy and the most easily understood. The State, he says, is mind objectified. The individual mind, which, on account of its passions, its prejudices, and its blind impulses, is only partly free, subjects itself to the yoke of necessity---the opposite of freedom---in order to attain a fuller realization of itself in the freedom of the citizen. The word prejudice refers to prejudgment making a decision before becoming aware of the relevant facts of a case or event In Classical mechanics, an impulse is defined as the Integral of a Force with respect to Time: \mathbf{I} = \int \mathbf{F}\ This yoke of necessity is first met with in the recognition of the rights of others, next in morality, and finally in social morality, of which the primal institution is the family. Morality (from the Latin la moralitas "manner character proper behavior" has three principal meanings Family denotes a group of People affiliated by consanguinity affinity or co-residence Aggregates of families form civil society, which, however, is but an imperfect form of organization compared with the State. The State is the perfect social embodiment of the idea, and stands in this stage of development for God Himself. The State, studied in itself, furnishes for our consideration constitutional law. A constitution is a system for government often Codified as a written document that establishes the rules and principles of an autonomous political entity In relation to other States it develops international law; and in its general course through historical vicissitudes it passes through what Hegel calls the "Dialectics of History". Hegel teaches that the constitution is the collective spirit of the nation and that the government is the embodiment of that spirit. Each nation has its own individual spirit, and the greatest of crimes is the act by which the tyrant or the conqueror stifles the spirit of a nation. In modern usage a tyrant is a single ruler holding absolute power over a State or within an Organization. War, he teaches, is an indispensable means of political progress. War is an international relations Dispute, characterized by organized Violence between National Military units It is a crisis in the development of the idea which is embodied in the different States, and out of this crisis the better State is certain to emerge victorious. The "ground" of historical development is, therefore, rational; since the State is the embodiment of reason as spirit. All the apparently contingent events of history are in reality stages in the logical unfolding of the sovereign reason which is embodied in the State. Passions, impulse, interest, character, personality---all these are either the expression of reason or the instruments which reason moulds for its own use. We are, therefore, to understand historical happenings as the stern, reluctant working of reason towards the full realization of itself in perfect freedom. Consequently, we must interpret history in purely rational terms, and throw the succession of events into logical categories. Thus, the widest view of history reveals three most important stages of development. Oriental monarchy (the stage of oneness, of suppression of freedom), Greek democracy (the stage of expansion, in which freedom was lost in unstable demagogy), and Christian constitutional monarchy (which represents the reintegration of freedom in constitutional government). A monarchy is a Form of government in which supreme power is actually or nominally lodged in an individual who is the Head of state, often for life or Democracy is a form of government in which the supreme power is held completely by the people under a free electoral system
Philosophy of absolute mind
Even in the State, mind is limited by subjection to other minds. There remains the final step in the process of the acquisition of freedom, namely, that by which absolute mind in art, religion, and philosophy subjects itself to itself alone. Art refers to a diverse range of Human activities creations and expressions that are appealing to the Senses or Emotions of a human individual A religion is a set of Tenets and practices often centered upon specific Supernatural and moral claims about Reality, the Cosmos In art, mind has the intuitive contemplation of itself as realized in the art material, and the development of the arts has been conditioned by the ever-increasing "docility" with which the art material lends itself to the actualization of mind or the idea. In religion, mind feels the superiority of itself to the particularizing limitations of finite things. Here, as in the philosophy of history, there are three great moments, Oriental religion, which exaggerated the idea of the infinite, Greek religion, which gave undue importance to the finite, and Christianity, which represents the union of the infinite and the finite. Eastern philosophy refers very broadly to the various philosophies of Asia, including Indian philosophy, Chinese philosophy, Persian Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings Last of all, absolute mind, as philosophy, transcends the limitations imposed on it even in religious feeling, and, discarding representative intuition, attains all truth under the form of reason. Whatever truth there is in art and in religion is contained in philosophy, in a higher form, and free from all limitations. Philosophy is, therefore, "the highest, freest and wisest phase of the union of subjective and objective mind, and the ultimate goal of all development. "
Influence of Hegel
The far reaching influence of Hegel is due in a measure to the undoubted vastness of the scheme of philosophical synthesis which he conceived and partly realized. A philosophy which undertook to organize under the single formula of triadic development every department of knowledge, from abstract logic up to the philosophy of history, has a great deal of attractiveness to those who are metaphysically inclined. But Hegel's influence is due in a still larger measure to two extrinsic circumstances. His philosophy is the highest expression of that spirit of collectivism which characterized the nineteenth century. The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar In theology especially Hegel revolutionized the methods of inquiry. Theology is the study of a god or the gods from a religious perspective The application of his notion of development to Biblical criticism and to historical investigation is obvious to anyone who compares the spirit and purpose of contemporary theology with the spirit and purpose of the theological literature of the first half of the nineteenth century. Etymology According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word bible is from Latin biblia, traced from the same word through Medieval Latin and Late Latin In science, too, and in literature, the substitution of the category of becoming for the category of being is a very patent fact, and is due to the influence of Hegel's method. In political economy and political science the effect of Hegel's collectivistic conception of the State supplanted to a large extent the individualistic conception which was handed down from the eighteenth century to the nineteenth. Economics is the social science that studies the production distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Political science is a branch of Social sciences that deals with the theory and practice of Politics and the description and analysis of Political systems
The Hegelian schools
Hegel's immediate followers in Germany are generally divided into the "Hegelian Rightists" and the "Hegelian Leftists" (the latter also referred to as the "Young Hegelians"—to which Karl Marx belonged). The Right Hegelians, Old Hegelians, or the Hegelian Right, were the followers of German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel who took his Young Hegelians, or Left Hegelians, were a group of Prussian intellectuals writing in the decade or so after the death of Georg Wilhelm Hegel in 1833 and responding The Right Hegelians, Old Hegelians, or the Hegelian Right, were the followers of German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel who took his Young Hegelians, or Left Hegelians, were a group of Prussian intellectuals writing in the decade or so after the death of Georg Wilhelm Hegel in 1833 and responding
The Rightists developed his philosophy along lines which they considered to be in accordance with Christian theology. They included Karl Friedrich Göschel, Johann Philipp Gabler, Johann Karl Friedrich Rosenkranz, and Johann Eduard Erdmann. Johann Philipp Gabler ( June 4, 1753 - February 17, 1826) was a German Protestant Christian theologian of the Johann Karl Friedrich Rosenkranz ( April 23, 1805 - July 14, 1879) was a German Philosopher. Johann Eduard Erdmann ( June 13, 1805 - June 12, 1892) was a German Philosophical writer
The Leftists accentuated the anti-Christian tendencies of Hegel's system and developed schools of materialism, socialism, rationalism, and pantheism. The Philosophy of materialism holds that the only thing that can be truly proven to exist is Matter, and is considered a form of Physicalism. Socialism refers to a broad set of economic theories of social organization advocating state or collective ownership and administration of the Means of production and distribution In Epistemology and in its broadest sense rationalism is "any view appealing to Reason as a source of knowledge or justification" (Lacey 286 Pantheism ( Greek: πάν ( 'pan') = all and θεός ( 'theos') = God it literally means " God is All They included Ludwig Feuerbach, Richter, Karl Marx, Bruno Bauer, and Otto Strauss. Ludwig Andreas von Feuerbach ( July 28, 1804 &ndash September 13, 1872) was a German Philosopher and Anthropologist Bruno Bauer ( September 6, 1809 – April 13, 1882) was a German theologian, Philosopher and Historian Max Stirner socialized with the left Hegelians but built his own philosophical system largely opposing that of these thinkers. Johann Kaspar Schmidt ( October 25, 1806 – June 26, 1856) better known as Max Stirner (the Nom de plume
In Britain, Hegelianism was represented during the nineteenth century by, and largely overlapped the British Idealist school of James Hutchison Stirling, Thomas Hill Green, William Wallace, John Caird, Edward Caird, Richard Lewis Nettleship, J. M. E. McTaggart, and Baillie. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom from 1 January 1801 until 12 April 1927 Absolute idealism is an ontologically Monistic philosophy attributed to G James Hutchison Stirling ( January 22, 1820 &ndash March 19, 1909) Philosopher, born in Glasgow, and educated there and For the actor Thomas Hill see Thomas Hill. Thomas Hill Green ( April 7, 1836 – March 26, 1882) William Wallace (May 11 1843 - February 18 1897 was a Scottish Philosopher. John Caird may refer to John Caird (theologian (1820–1898Scottish theologian John Caird (director (born 1948 British stage director Edward Caird ( March 23, 1835 – November 1, 1908) was a Philosopher and younger brother of the theologian John Caird. Richard Lewis Nettleship ( December 17, 1846 - August 25, 1892) English Philosopher, youngest brother of Henry Nettleship John McTaggart Ellis McTaggart ( September 3, 1866 – January 18, 1925) was an Idealist metaphysicist. A baillie (alternative spelling bailie, from Old French) was a local civic officer in Scottish Burghs approximately equivalent to the post of British interest in Hegel was largely driven by political thought.
In Denmark, Hegelianism was represented by Johan Ludvig Heiberg and Hans Lassen Martensen from the 1820s to the 1850s. The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe Johan Ludvig Heiberg ( December 14, 1791 – August 25, 1860) Danish Poet and Critic, son of the political writer Hans Lassen Martensen ( August 19, 1808 – February 3, 1884) was a Danish divine and academic Year 1820 ( MDCCCXX) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year For the game see 1850 (board game. 1850 ( MDCCCL) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link
Hegelianism in North America was represented by Thomas Watson and William T. Harris. Thomas Watson or Tom Watson may refer to Bishops Thomas Watson (bishop (1515–1584 Bishop of Lincoln from 1557-1560 William Torrey Harris ( 10 September 1835 - 5 November 1909) was an American Educator, Philosopher, and Lexicographer In its most recent form it seems to take its inspiration from Thomas Hill Green, and whatever influence it exerts is opposed to the prevalent pragmatic tendency. For the actor Thomas Hill see Thomas Hill. Thomas Hill Green ( April 7, 1836 – March 26, 1882)
In Poland, Hegelianism was represented by Karol Libelt, August Cieszkowski and Józef Kremer. Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland Józef Kremer ( February 22, 1806, Kraków - June 2, 1875 Kraków was a Polish historian of art a philosopher an aesthetician and
Benedetto Croce and Étienne Vacherot were the leading Hegelians towards the end of the nineteenth century in Italy and France, respectively. Benedetto Croce ( February 25, 1866 – November 20, 1952) was an Italian critic idealist Philosopher, and Étienne Vacherot ( July 29, 1809 - July 28, 1897) was a French philosophical writer Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Among Catholic philosophers who were influenced by Hegel the most prominent were Georg Hermes and Anton Günther. Catholic is an Adjective derived from the Greek adjective '' / 'katholikos' meaning "whole" or "complete". Georg Hermes ( 22 April 1775 - 26 May 1831) German Roman Catholic theologian, was born at Dreyerwalde in Anton Günther ( 17 November 1783 &ndash 24 February 1863) was an Austrian Roman Catholic Philosopher whose
Hegelianism also inspired Giovanni Gentile's philosophy of actual idealism and Fascism, the concept that people are motivated by ideas and that social change is brought by the leaders. Giovanni Gentile (dʒoˈvɑnni dʒenˈtile May 30, 1875 April 15, 1944) was an Italian neo- Hegelian Idealist Actual Idealism was a form of Idealism developed by Giovanni Gentile that grew into a 'grounded' idealism contrasting the Transcendental Idealism of Fascism is a totalitarian nationalist and corporatist ideology
This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913. The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone The Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to today as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language Encyclopedia published by The Encyclopedia
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