Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel is one of the most difficult philosophers not only to read, but also to understand and interpret. Born in Stuttgart in 1770 and died in Berlin in 1831, he was the most important exponent of German idealism . His philosophical reflection emerges in the German culture of the early nineteenth century, still pervaded by Kant’s philosophy and his idealistic developments. In this special we will give you some guidelines on the main stages of Hegel’s thought and links to in-depth notes to fully understand Hegelian philosophy.
Hegel’s conception of history
According to Hegel, there is a strong connection between philosophy and history; his is a positive conception of history that always leads to freedom. All reality derives from a divine plan and historical reality is the realization of the absolute that becomes aware of itself.
Hegel’s philosophy: the absolute
According to Hegel, reality is dialectical because it recognizes the contradictoriness of the real and superior, as it overcomes the dualism of finite and infinite. The absolute, which is infinite, is nothing but the synthesis of the finite . For Hegel only the whole can be real, not the parts.
The Phenomenology of Spirit
Here Hegel tries to understand the absolute by analyzing the stages of the absolute becoming aware of itself through two moments:
- Consciousness , which is divided into sensible certainty, perception and intellect
- Self-awareness
Master-servant dialectic
Whoever between two people fears death entrusts himself to another, becoming a servant of the master who exploits him for his own purposes. However, the servant learns to manage nature while the master becomes dependent on the servant. At this point the roles are reversed.
Dialectic of Reason
The absolute uses a dialectical procedure to grasp oppositions and bring them to unity. The intellect grasps individual things in themselves, while reason grasps the whole. The moments of the dialectic of reason are 3:
- Intellectual moment (thesis)
- Dialectical moment (antithesis)
- Speculative moment (synthesis)
The logic
Here Hegel investigates reality in three moments:
- Logic of being: idea in the mind of God before being thought
- Logic of essence: how we perceive a thing in its foundation
- Logic of the concept: considers the particular reality by including it in the universal
For further information: Hegel: The Categories of Logic.
Philosophy of nature
Nature is the idea when it comes out of God and divides into:
- Mechanics
- Physics of bodies
- Organic physics
Philosophy of the spirit
Spirit is the idea that returns to itself through three levels:
