Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel was a German philosopher greatly influenced, like many thinkers of his time, by Immanuel Kant. Where Kant separated the world of perception from the rational world, Hegel sought to unite them. His first major work, Phenomenology of Spirit, was published in 1807, and outlined the main themes of his philosophy. His Philosophy of History, sadly incomplete, was published by a group of his friends after his death 1831. Today, I want to briefly summarize this work, and offer some tips for making dense philosophical texts a little easier to decipher.
“World history is the progress of the consciousness of freedom…”
What is history? Hegel’s system views world history as the process of the “World Spirit” coming to consciousness of itself as free. This means that the spiritual or metaphysical world is working to realize itself in the physical natural world. This is done by moving through world events, creating empires, and societies which rise and fall, as this “World Spirit” progresses ever closer to freedom. History then, is only concerned with peoples (or states or cultures), not individuals.
Hegel summarizes three takeaways for us: the first, “The present is the highest stage.” Secondly, every philosophical development is forward progress, and lastly, the principles of said philosophies are the key, not the specific systems which produce them.
Legacy
Hegel, along with Kant, has earned a reputation of being obscure and difficult to follow. He is an example of philosophy which some have characterized as academic, or unhelpful to the average person. I think, however, that by becoming familiar with philosophy and the way to approach it, wisdom and insight is much simpler to extract than most people would believe. As with any rigorous field of study, knowing how to prepare helps to clarify the material. Philosophy simply requires more thought than lighter selections.This is not to discount the work, research, and study of philosophers and thinkers who dive deeply into the implications of Kant’s Critique, or those who seek to fully establish Hegel’s framework, but rather to encourage readers to approach philosophy and not be intimidated by it. I will outline below the necessary steps one can take to become familiar and confident when reading philosophy.
Hegel’s system has been both praised and opposed. His ideas influenced Marx, Nietzsche, and Kierkegaard, all of whom rejected parts of his system for various reasons. Other philosophers further developed aspects of Hegel’s outline, such as his ideas about the relation between consciousness and the culture of certain points in time. Arguably, Hegel’s greatest contribution may have been the suggestion of viewing all of history as a development of thought.
Approaching Philosophy with Confidence
Philosophy is the pursuit of truth through logic, reason, and rigorous questioning. This is an organized process to methodically testing theories about the human experience. Studying philosophy is simply reading and thinking about reasoned, well-considered writing. This practice also has the benefit of helping your thoughts to become more ordered and sound. Iron sharpens iron! When you engage with sound thinking, your thinking improves. This is the value to be found in reading the writings of great thinkers; you become a great thinker yourself.
Philosophy teaches us how to take an idea, break down its components, consider them individually, put them back together in a system which is reasonable, and evaluate the entire system. It applies scientific principles to human thought and experiences. Every philosophical text is written to answer a question, either explicitly stated or implied throughout the text.
As a reader of philosophy, you will need to answer two questions: “What question is the author addressing” and, “Does he succeed in answering it?”
In order to answer these questions, you should focus on how the author goes about their questioning process. The way we arrive at a conclusion is even more important than the conclusions themselves. This is because the process demonstrates whether the system works or not. For example, in solving math problems, one could use the process of throwing out random numbers until one was determined correct. This approach may result in a correct answer, however, it is neither efficient nor reliable, as it requires a ridiculous amount of work, will change with every use, and therefore isn’t a good idea. Rather, memorizing multiplication tables, formulas, etc and how to apply them to a problem will yield consistent results, and is more efficient. Likewise, we need to focus on the system the author uses, and whether it works consistently; not merely on the answers that system yields.
How do we go about understanding the process of philosophy?
Let’s break this down into key points for reading philosophy:
- Determine the “big question” the text is answering.
- Look at where this text fits into the discipline of philosophy. Was this written by an Ancient Greek or an Enlightenment philosopher, or somewhere in between? Because philosophers build upon the work of previous thinkers, understanding when and where it was written can help you to understand why the author makes certain points or assumptions.
- Accept their definitions and assumptions.
- Take time to understand the flow of thought, and to think about the text yourself. The most important part of reading philosophy, as with any kind of book, is thinking about it.
- Look at how the author addresses objections. Is there a objection you would add or any you feel are not adequately answered?
- Decide what you think. After all, we are contemplating how one experiences the world or how should act; now that you’ve done the work of investigating what the author has presented, make up your mind as to what you think about what she said.
My biggest caution for you, the reader, is to allow the author to make his case. Accept his or her categorizations, rules for the system, and assumptions while working through the text. This does not mean that you actually accept them for yourself. This is a mental exercise of adopting a viewpoint which you don’t actually hold and is excellent practice for understanding opposing or outside viewpoints. It is taking on another perspective; working within it toward the main question in the text; thinking critically about that perspective’s merits and shortcomings; then determining whether the author has answered the original question in a satisfactory manner. Only by understanding the system, and its workings, can we begin to form an opinion as to whether or not the author has succeeded.
“To him who looks at the world rationally, the world looks rationally back.”
Philosophy offers us the opportunity to clarify our thoughts, reasoning, and perspectives by observing, accommodating, and rebuilding them in our individual progressions toward ever greater heights. Let us seek to learn and not be intimidated or bored by the prospect. In our world where time seems to rush by faster and faster, spending time thinking with a book – any book- can be a source of personal calm and inspiration.
Additional References:
Nineteenth-Century Philosophy (Third Edition) by Baird, Forrest E. and Kaufmann, Walter. 2003.
How to Read A Book. Adler, Mortimer J. and Van Dorn, Charles. 1972.
Ed. note: This is entry is part nineteen of a series looking at the three schools of philosophy for perspectives on relationships in our modern world. Inspired by Emerson’s “The American Scholar,” we are exploring timeless wisdom which endures and informs how we approach learning, relationships and leadership. Click here for all the posts in this series.
