The German Tradition

Georg W.F. Hegel, born in Stuttgart in 1770, was a German idealist philosopher whose most lasting contribution is his treatment of the philosophy of history. As a German idealist following in the tradition of Immanuel Kant, Johann Gottlieb Fichte, and Friedrich Schelling, Hegel's philosophy can be interpreted as a refutation of the thought of materialists and empiricists such as the "common sense" philosophy of David Hume and the rigid empiricism of John Locke.  The most sustained critique of the cold, lifeless philosophy of the Scottish and British schools of thought came in Immanuel Kant's revolutionary work, the Critique of Pure Reason.

Kant's revolution in philosophy was to posit two worlds dependent upon human perception, and thus revive the role of the mind and spirit in human existence. One was a world made up of concrete objects, of things in themselves. The other was a world entirely dependent upon the experience of the individual. Kant made explicit the role of the mind in the structuring of experience; no longer were humans seen as slaves of Nature's Laws, for the human mind was capable of creating and molding the individual's experiences. Later German philosophers, including Fichte and Hegel, would expand upon this notion in significant ways, but the basic belief in the power of the Spirit remained a tenet of the German idealist school. Thus, one of the great accomplishments (or disasters, depending on how one views the situation) of the Kantians and post-Kantians was a denial of the passionless empiricism and materialism that dominated the "Enlightenment."

So Why is Hegel Important?

Much of Hegel's writing is a direct challenge to Kant's critical philosophy. To Hegel, Kant was just a "mysticist" whose claims for synthetic a priori knowledge were weak and unsubstantiated. Hegel understood that Spirit could never be abandoned; yet neither could reason and sensual experience be forsaken. Hegel stepped beyond both the empiricists and the Kantian idealists in his Phenomenology of Mind, and in so doing, created his rigorous philosophical system of dialectics.

Hegel's Dialectic

The basic tenet of Hegel's philosophy is that the human mind does indeed play a large role in structuring the existence of the individual, but only through its opposition to the concrete world. For example, our concept of a chair is something that is formed in our minds, yet this concept could not occur without some sort of sensual perception of the chair itself. When I see, feel, smell, etc., a chair, I do not yet know that it is a chair; only when my mind has formed a concept of "chair" can I comprehend the chair. This dialectical process continues; for the next chair I see will have different characteristics, yet it is still a chair. By experiencing this new chair and comparing it to my previous concept of "chair," I come to a fuller realization of "chair." Thus, my mind's concept of a chair becomes more comprehensive; the thesis of the concrete chair has opposed its antithesis, my mind's conception of "chair," to create a synthesis of a higher order. Thus, to extend the example, the more chairs I am able to experience sensually, the more complete my concept of "chair" becomes. This is the basis of Hegel's idealism; for Hegel treated all human actions in a dialectical manner. The Self was nothing until the Mind was able to relate the Self to its concept of "self" as well as relate it to the Other (the material world, or the concrete) and again, the Mind's concept of "other." Thus, Hegel believed that the individual, by interacting with other individuals, other objects in the concrete world, as well as other ideas in the world of the Spirit, could reach a higher order of Self. In fact, true freedom and the fully realized self could only be achieved through interaction with other individuals, other objects, and other ideas. Consequently, institutions such as the family, civil society, education, government, etc., were absolutely essential to the freedom of the individual. All life is organic; all occurences are simply a part of a complex web of dialectical clashes between Spirit and Matter; all clashes result in a synthesis of a higher order; and thus, the world is progressing steadily towards perfection.

Hegel's particular brand of idealism has not been a terribly popular philosophical stance for most of the twentieth century; in fact, many one-time devout Hegelians would eventually repudiate the German genius' ideas (e.g., Johann B. Stallo and John Dewey). Though Hegel was the most influential philosopher in Germany during his lifetime and developed a strong following in the American Midwest in the mid-19th century, his philosophy has begun to gather nasty layers of dust in the vaults of modern American philosophy. There are probably two main reasons why contemporary Americans pay little attention to Georg Hegel: his writing is excruciatingly painful to read, especially in translation, and the pragmatic undercurrents of American thought prevent most Americans from identifying with an idealist.

Hegel's Philosophy of History

For all his incomprehensibility and unpopularity, Hegel remains one of the most important philosophers for any historian to understand. The primary concern of any historian or historiographer should be the results Hegel's thought had on the study and philosophy of history. To Hegel, history was a complex, organic process that could never be understood by concentrating solely on the narrow accounts of politicians, kings, and aristocrats. To fully understand the history of a nation or of the world, one had to delve into its very "Zeitgeist," its spirit of the times, and explore its culture, its patterns of thought, and the interactions of all its people.

Other Impacts of Hegelian Thought

Of course, Hegel's influence on the thought of Karl Marx can not be ignored. Marx borrowed Hegel's dialectic, dropped the idealism, threw in a healthy measure of materialism, and called himself a communist. No Marxist or materialistic historian can ignore Hegel's dialectic and his interpretation of world history. Ironically, though Hegel's thought was generally regarded as a powerful attack on materialism, his greatest student eventually became the Western world's most famous materialist.

Hegel's thought had other important effects, even in America, the land where British empiricism planted its flag on firmest ground. For instance, Hegel's thought opened the path towards pragmatism, progressivism, and relativism. William James borrowed heavily from the work of the German idealists to construct an American intellectual tradition that he labelled "Pragmatism" (not to be confused with either pragmatism nor Charles Peirce's "Pragmaticism"). John Dewey began his ever-evolving philosophical career as a Hegelian, and other Progressives were especially influenced by Hegel's emphasis on the training of the mind through education. Finally, Hegel's emphasis on the individual and even the Absolute as a constantly evolving process, continually subjected to the influence of external as well as internal forces, became a starting poing for relativism.

Hegel's thought was also crucial in sparking a revolution in American educational policy. The "Kindergarten Movement" and John Dewey's Democracy and Education are only two examples of the accomplishments American Hegelians made in the field of education.

Thus, Hegel's influence in America has been overwhelming, although we often lose sight of his original, though admittedly peculiar, philosophy. Although students of Hegel often complain of his lengthy digressions into incomprehensiblity, his thought has played a major role in how we study history. Hegel's dialectic was a major influence behind Marx's influential brand of socialism. Without Hegel, pragmatism, progressivism, and relativism may never have become popular philosophical systems. Hegel's emphasis on the mind and the need for human interaction in order to achieve true "selfhood" led to a revolution in American educational policy.

Of course, this extremely condensed overview Hegel's thought does not pretend to do justice to the man who has been called "incomprehensible" by people ten times more intelligent than me. However, there are several resources for a more complete examination of the thought of Hegel and the other German idealists:

Any questions, comments, or links to share? Send an emailto shamilto@students.wisc.edu