G.W.F. Hegel

Greg Gagne

Background•George Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770-

1831)•Born in Stuttgart, 1770•Educated at the Royal Highschool in

Stuttgart•German Idealism•Hölderlin and von Schelling•University of Jena, University of Berlin

▫Critical philosophy, Kant

Influential Ideas and Outcomes•Immanuel Kant – Hegelian philosophy in

relation to Kant▫Critical philosophy – criticism >

justification of knowledge

•von Schelling (yes, again)

•Karl Marx – once a Young Hegelian, flipped Hegel’s ideas

Philosophy•Metaphysics

▫Traditional▫Non- (or post-Kantian)▫Revised

•Different interpretations of his ideas, permutations

•Hegel’s “spirit”▫Potential force, action, goal

Traditional Metaphysical•Analytic Philosophy•“God as “Absolute Spirit,” the ultimate

reality that we can come to know through pure thought processes alone” (Redding)

•Pre-critical, “dogmatic” metaphysics – opposes Kant

•History

Non-metaphysical•Post-Kantian

•Accepting and extending Kant’s critique of pure reason

•Controversial conception of “spirit”

Revised Metaphysical•Analytic metaphysics

▫Conceptual dimension

•Dismiss extravagant metaphysical aspect of Hegel

•Rejection of Kant’s anti-metaphysical attitude

Published Works•Phenomenology of Spirit

•Science of Logic

•Encyclopaedia of the Philosophical Sciences

Crime and Punishment•“At the core of Hegel’s social and political

thought are the concepts of freedom, reason, self-consciousness, and recognition” (Duquette)

•Raskolnikov exemplifies these ideas

•“What is rational is actual, and what is actual is rational” (Hegel)

Works Cited• Duquette, David A. "Hegel: Social and Political Thought [Internet

Encyclopedia of Philosophy]." Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 03 July 2005. Web. 03 Dec. 2011. <http://www.iep.utm.edu/hegelsoc/>.

• "Hegel's Science of Philosophy." G.W.F Hegel Resource Site. Web. 03 Dec. 2011. <http://www.gwfhegel.org/index.html>. (resource and picture)

• "Musings from the Coast » Blog Archive » Funny for Monday." Montara Ventures. Web. 05 Dec. 2011. <http://montaraventures.com/blog/2007/08/13/funny-for-monday/>. (picture)

• Redding, Paul. "George Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)."Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 1997. Web. 03 Dec. 2011. <http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/hegel/>.

• Rohlf, Michael. "Immanuel Kant (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)." Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 20 May 2010. Web. 03 Dec. 2011. <http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kant/>.

• "George Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel: Encyclopaedia of the Philosophical Sciences in Basic Outline - Academic and Professional Books." Cambridge University Press. Web. 07 Dec. 2011. <http://www.cambridge.org/us/knowledge/isbn/item2714901/?site_locale=en_US>. (picture)