Georg W. F. Hegel

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831) was a German philosopher who boldly set forth a philosophical system that allegedly comprehended the entire course of history. A university lecturer and a professor of philosophy, Hegel wrote in a manner that was incomprehensible to many. In fact, some have asserted that Hegel is perhaps the most difficult philosopher of all time to understand. His two works, Phenomenology of Mind and the Science of Logic are two most of the most obscure books in the history of philosophy.

Hegel’s aim was highly ambitious. He wanted to create a philosophical system that would explain both the past and future in a comprehensive way. He wanted to rationally explain how history was operating and where it was going. Hegel’s philosophy was centered in the concept of Geist which includes the concepts of “Spirit” and “Mind.” (“Spirit” represents the religious aspect of reality and “Mind” represents the rational aspect.) For Hegel, all reality is the outworking of Geist. The outworking of Geist means that the universe is operating in a rational way that is moving the universe in a more positive direction. Absolute Idealism is the name for the view that all reality is shaped by “Spirit” or “Mind.”

The concept of freedom was important to Hegel. In fact, for Hegel, “The history of the world is none other than the progress of the consciousness of freedom.” The progress of freedom can be seen in the eras of history. First, in the ancient empires such as China, India, and Persia freedom did not exist at all. Only the ruler was free. Second, the ancient Greeks experienced more freedom although the situation was far from ideal. Third, freedom triumphed with the Protestant Reformation. At this time individual rights were given their proper place. The time since the Reformation has been the working out of the principle of freedom. Interestingly, Hegel viewed his own Prussian state as the final stage of societal development.

Hegel is also known for his theories on the dialectical nature of reality. According to Hegel, history is the struggle between different dynamic concepts that claim to be accurate descriptions of reality. This leads to what has been identified as the ‘thesis/antithesis/synthesis’ model for understanding reality: A concept (thesis) necessarily brings forth an opposite concept (antithesis). A struggle then emerges between the thesis and the antithesis until a more truthful synthesis emerges. The newly developed synthesis consists of the most truthful parts of the thesis and antithesis. This newly formed synthesis becomes a thesis from which an opposing antithesis is formed. From this comes another synthesis and the process continues until the “Absolute Idea” is reached. Once the perfect “absolute idea” is reached the thesis/antithesis/synthesis process ends. Thus, history is in progress and each synthesis leads to a better state for humanity.

After Hegel’s death a group called the Young Hegelians argued that Hegel was not true to his own philosophy and they believed they could apply Hegel’s core philosophy in a better way. One of these members was Karl Marx. Although often critical of Hegel, Marx adopted Hegel’s theory of the process of historical development. Marx, however, replaced Spirit with Matter as the central element in the process. Through his influence on Karl Marx, Hegel’s philosophy impacted the course of history in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.