Hegel - biography, facts from life, photos, reference information. German philosopher Georg Hegel: basic ideas

Hegel is rightfully considered one of the greatest German thinkers who elevated German philosophy to unprecedented heights. Many researchers believe that it was Hegel who brought to mind the idea begun by Kant.

His teaching had a great influence on all the philosophers who lived in his time. And even now, the philosophical system built by Hegel retains a great influence. You can often hear that it was with him that German philosophy reached a peak in its development. This will certainly be an exaggeration, but its influence on German thought is really enormous.

However, for all his merits, he was pretty poor at explaining his ideas to mere mortals. His works are written in heavy scientific language and it is easy to get confused even for those who have long been studying philosophy.

In this article we will more easily analyze the main aspects of his philosophy and consider his notorious laws of dialectics.

A brief biography of Hegel

But we will begin, perhaps, with a brief biography of the famous philosopher.

Georg Friedrich Wilhelm Hegel was born on August 27, 1770 in the German town of Stuttgart, in the family of a government official. He worked for the Duke of Karl Eugen as Secretary to the Treasury.

In 1788, he began his studies at the Tübingen Institute, which he graduated in 1793. At the university, he paid much attention to theology and philosophy. According to a habit that has been ingrained since childhood, he read a lot and worked hard. In university years, he was known to be friends with Schelling and Gelderlin, the famous German poet.

As a mere 20-year-old student, Hegel defended his master's thesis, becoming a master of philosophy. Despite the fact that he spent the last 3 years at the university studying theology and successfully passed the exams, the clergy did not attract him at all. Perhaps it was his dislike of the church, which developed during his studies at the university.

After successfully graduating from university, he worked for 3 years, from 1793 to 1796, as a home teacher in Bern. The next 3 years, from 1797 to 1800, did not differ much from the previous ones. Hegel still worked as a home teacher, but now in Frankfurt.

All his free time from work, Hegel spent writing his works and was completely immersed in books.

In 1799, having received from his father an inheritance of 3,000 guilders and adding his own savings to it, he was finally able to fully devote himself to academic activity.

In January 1801, he received the position of privat assistant professor at Jena University and the opportunity to lecture. However, this lesson was given to him with difficulty, and it was not popular among students.

In 1805, he was awarded the post of extraordinary professor at the same University of Jena, where in 1806 he wrote one of his most famous works, The Phenomenology of the Spirit, which he completed, he said, the day before the end of the battle for Jena, in which the French won and captured Jena. As a result, he had to leave the city and become a newspaper editor in Bamberg, where he worked only a year until 1808, which left him with a completely negative impression.

Therefore, when in 1808 he was offered to take the post of rector at the Nuremberg gymnasium, he agreed with pleasure and moved with pleasure. He worked there until 1816.

In 1811, Hegel still decided to marry, his chosen one was Maria Elena Suzanne von Tucher, a representative of the Bavarian nobility. Nuremberg plays an important role in the life of the German thinker, also because it was here that the first part of his fundamental work, The Science of Logic, was published.

He would have remained there, if in 1816 he had not received an invitation to the post of full-time professor of philosophy at once from three universities: Erlanger, Gelderberg and Berlin. He chose Gelderberg, where he worked for another 2 years until 1818, and then moved to Berlin, where he settled at the University of Berlin, acting as head of the department of philosophy.

If in 1818 his lectures were reluctant to attend, then by 1820 he became so famous that not only German students came to listen to him, but also many who were interested from all over the world. His view of the philosophy of law, as well as Hegel's understanding of the state system, gradually began to become a state ideology and in 1821 he released his new work, which he called “The Philosophy of Law”.

In 1830 he took the place of head of the University of Berlin and in 1831 received a special award from the current monarch for his worthy service to the German state.

In August of the same year, Hegel hastily left Berlin, in which a cholera epidemic was raging, but returned in October, as he considered that there was nothing more to fear. However, the disease still got him and in November he died.

Although cholera is considered the official cause of Hegel's death, many still believe that some serious stomach disease was the main cause of death.

The basis of Hegel's philosophical system

Before you begin to analyze his main ideas, you need to figure out which analytical structure underlies his philosophical system.

Hegel's philosophical system is based on Kantian ideas. But if Kant had a stumbling block was a pure mind that was spared from everything sensual, material, and even experienced. Kant is interested in the possibility of spontaneous cognition of the world by pure reason, without involving the categories of experience.

Hegel is of a completely different opinion. He believed that our experienced knowledge is a necessary category for understanding the essence of things. Hegel even compared Kant's cognition system to a person who wants to learn how to swim without entering the water.

Based on these principles, Hegel formulates his basic philosophical principle - the Principle of the identity of thinking and being.

It follows from this principle that our empirical knowledge is embedded in the structure of our thinking. Through our methods of cognition, nature reveals to us some of its part. Its noumenal essence, as it were, is revealed through a phenomenon (phenomenon).

But much more important for understanding his philosophical system, its logic is described in the books “Big Logic” and “Small Logic” which are part of the fundamental work “Science of Logic”.

In it, Hegel talks about his threefold system, which he calls dialectics. Any property of an object, according to Hegel, if it describes a characteristic of a real whole, is itself contradictory.

And it was precisely the contradiction that he considered the criterion of truth. The absence of contradictions is the criterion of error.

A statement about the properties of an object is called a thesis. A statement that contradicts it is an antithesis.

The third component in this system is the merger of these two contradictions, taking into account all logical inconsistencies, taking the best from two statements - synthesis. Synthesis is one of the most important phenomena in Hegel's philosophy. It was created in order to bring the thesis and antithesis to a common denominator, and then form a new thesis from the synthesis obtained, for which the antithesis is chosen, and so on, until we reach a certain consistent Absolute.

Maintaining such a concept as synthesis, according to Hegel, was necessary to overcome Kantian antinomies, judgments in which the thesis and antithesis are equally provable.

It is according to this scheme that practically the whole Hegelian philosophy works. That is how he formed his laws of dialectics, the doctrine of the absolute idea and everything else.

Absolute idea

Definition of an Absolute Idea

In the Hegelian system of understanding of the world, the doctrine of the absolute idea is the most global and extensive, encompassing the entire universe and many aspects of human life.

At the heart of the universe, according to Hegel, lies the impersonal Absolute. This spiritual, autonomous principle is a condition for the development of the world. Unlike Spinoza, who argued that the Absolute is inherent in length and thinking, Hegel does not consider the Absolute to be a thinking and creating principle, it is only a starting point and a necessary resource for the development of all things.

And it is the absolute idea that gives shape to this faceless substrate. In the words of Hegel:

“An absolute idea is a set of categories that are a condition for the formation of the world and human history.”

The main and key goal of an absolute idea is self-knowledge, as well as the development of independent self-awareness.

To understand his logic, you should go through the chain of his thoughts.

Nature cannot be the basis of all things, says Hegel, it is essentially passive and cannot lead active creative activity. She needs something to push her towards creation, set the initial impulse for the subsequent transformation.

Without this impulse, nature would remain unchanged from the very moment of its inception.

He probably came up with this symbiosis of an absolute idea and a faceless nature by analogy with the human mind. After all, it is our thinking that makes each of us unique. It is thinking that changes our life depending on what categories we think.

Nature without an absolute idea can be compared to a person in a coma. Perhaps he still had the ability to think, but its results are completely invisible. The man himself does not change in any way, his condition is static and he simply will die without help.

The absolute idea is also the totality of the entire spiritual human culture, all the knowledge accumulated by mankind over the entire period of its existence.

And it is precisely at the level of human culture and experience that the world of things collides with the human mind. Thanks to this, it becomes possible to understand the real noumenal essence of things. Although this understanding is incomplete, it is still better than Kant's rather radical view, which argued that understanding of noumenons (things in themselves) is impossible through experience.

From here follows Hegel’s statement that culture is not just a way of expressing one’s own thinking and realization of creative ability, but also a way of seeing and perceiving the world.

After all, each person sees the world in completely different ways through the prism of his own perception.

The evolution of an absolute idea

In his three fundamental works, The Science of Logic, The Philosophy of Nature, and The Philosophy of Spirit, Hegel tried to uncover the topic of how the absolute idea works.

In his probably most famous book, The Science of Logic, Hegel explains the role that reason, thinking and logic itself play in human life and in world history as a whole. It is in it that another one, no less famous than triodicity, is formed, the principle of ascent from the abstract to the concrete.

Hegel's understanding of abstract thinking can be illustrated by looking at the reaction of people to any socially significant event. Whether it's a politician's speech or a sentencing murderer. Each person from the crowd, (or from comments under the news) watching what is happening has his own point of view.

However, they never see an absolutely complete picture of what is happening. And only by collecting together absolutely all available information about this event, having analyzed all points of view, a person can claim to have specific knowledge.

Concrete knowledge is always diverse. It includes the smallest possible details and nuances.

Without this, we become only hostages of our own opinion, formed by our attitudes towards life.

The development of the Absolute Idea begins, according to Hegel, with completely abstract, vague concepts.

The science of logic itself consists of 3 parts, which is the steps by which we rise in the knowledge of things.

It can be expressed by the scheme: "Being-Essence-Concept." Let us dwell on this in more detail:

Being-Essence-Concept

The first of the abstract definitions is pure "Being." In its original form, Genesis is just a word, it has no certainty, and so much so that it can even be compared with the concept of “Nothing”, precisely because of the lack of any qualitative characteristic.

“Formation” is a concept that unites these very impersonal “Being” and “Nothing”. This is a kind of synthesis, which gives life some kind of qualitative characteristic.

To better understand how being takes shape, you can imagine an artist painting a picture. First, he outlines the edges of the drawing, draws a sketch, then in the process, the picture is filled with new colors, acquires a variety of shades, shadows and other additional parameters.

In this example, the artist will be the absolute idea, creating his masterpiece, and the picture will be a being that gradually takes shape and form, thereby moving from an empty abstract "Being", comparable to nothing in the so-called "present being".

Having finished drawing, he sets the painting aside and takes a new canvas, thereby turning life into nothing again.

It is with existing being that human cognition begins, because it is logical to assume that we can only interact with what is visible or detectable by any of the available methods.

According to Hegel, the essence is the basis of the material world, and if Kant has this unknowable thing in himself, then Hegel, as mentioned above, believes that through our observation it is partially revealed to us.

Gradually plunging into an understanding of the Essence, we find that each of them is internally contradictory.

A concept is a category that reproduces the entire process of being and thinking preceding it. It is historical, carries the whole experience of previous generations, is constantly changing, supplemented and in fact is a synthesis of the triad Being (present) -Essence-Concept.

Philosophy of nature

The absolute idea, according to Hegel, being a purely metaphysical entity, the personification of pure thought, does not have the ability to know itself without its antithesis. And this antithesis is nature, which is also called "Other Being."

The absolute idea is connected with nature through “Alienation”. Being an intangible object, it is necessary for it to translate part of its creative material into the material world, in other words, to alienate part of itself into nature. This process is needed by the absolute idea to obtain feedback in order to understand which way to move further in your self-knowledge.

Like Schelling, Hegel considers man the highest stage of the development of Other Being. This creature, being the embodiment of an absolute idea in nature, can create and explore the world around it.

Philosophy of spirit

Speaking about a man, one cannot but touch upon such a section of Hegelian philosophy as the philosophy of spirit. In the book “Phenomenology of the Spirit”, Hegel divides the human consciousness into 3 components in the usual triode manner:

Stage of subjective spirit
Stage of Objective Spirit
Stage of Absolute Spirit

At the first stage, we can only talk about one specific person, studying which you can expand and subsequently extrapolate your knowledge to all of humanity. At this stage, sciences such as psychology that studies the inner world of a person, phenomenology that analyzes human consciousness and, finally, anthropology that studies humanity in all its unity, manifestations of material and cultural values \u200b\u200bare useful.

At the stage of an objective spirit, Hegel expands the boundaries of the study of man, introducing such new categories of knowledge of human society as the family, civil society and the state. Here, not only the person per se is already taken into account, but also his connections, contacts, and interactions in society.

Absolute spirit is the highest stage in the development of human thought. It includes such stages as art, religion and philosophy.

Art is a concept of beauty, a view of the world from the side of aesthetic perception.

Hegel calls religion a synthesis of the whole aesthetic worldview. Here he gives an example of the creation of a Christian paradigm, which, in his words, has become a synthesis of the whole ancient culture.

Philosophy is the highest level of development of human thinking, which Hegel calls: "The era known in thinking."

It incorporates all the basic problems characteristic of any human era, which are raised by the most talented people of their time and brought to the surface, gaining a theoretical form.

The laws of dialectics

The Hegelian laws of dialectics are the most important achievement of the German thinker and are intended to serve a better understanding of society and, in principle, of any processes associated with man.

The law of transition of quantitative changes to qualitative

This law can be called the most comprehensive. He describes all the processes that occur with all things in the world, quantitative and qualitative changes can be seen in absolutely every aspect of our life.

This law is characterized by 4 terms:

Number. In the Hegelian interpretation, that which outwardly defines the subject. These are the parameters that allow us to fix the presence of an object in space and time. A quantitative characterization is merely an affirmation of the presence of an item without any additional characteristics. For example, when we say “cat” or “man,” we simply isolate a given subject from the entire universe.
Quality determines the internal characteristics of the subject. In this case, we are already talking about a specific cat or a specific person, different from other cats or other people.
Measure acts as a synthesis of quantity and quality. This concept represents a change in quantitative characteristics while maintaining qualitative ones. This is best seen in a process such as freezing water. If you pour water onto the street in winter at a temperature below zero, you can notice how it turns into ice. This will be the destruction of the measure and the transition from one qualitative state to another.
A leap is something with the help of which a transition is made from one qualitative state to another. And it is precisely the moment when water turns into ice that can be called a leap.

The law of double negation

Forming the law of double negation, Hegel argues that the understanding of the world by man goes in a spiral, constantly ascending upward. Moreover, this applies not only to the world, but also to our own development.

Unlike Kant, who argued that with respect to any issue, only the thesis (statement) and the antithesis (negation) can be expressed, Hegel adds to them the synthesis, which in this case is called “Withdrawal” from Hegel.

This term describes the transition from a lower state to a higher state, but the lower state does not disappear, it remains hidden in the higher state.

To illustrate this concept, we can give a classic example of the development of a fetus from a kidney.

First of all, a bud appears on the tree, after a while it is transformed into a flower and by its appearance the flower denies the bud, the bud goes into a higher state, but the bud does not disappear, it is still contained in the flower in a hidden (removed) form. Following the kidney, the flower disappears, turning into a fetus (moving to an even higher state), which will contain both the flower and the bud when removed.

From this example, it can be understood that in Hegel's dialectical negation there are three conditions:

Overcoming the old, which consists in the emergence of new higher forms of development
Continuity - new forms contain the best and most useful characteristics of old
Approval of new

These three conditions are also true for our own development. Indeed, each of our new knowledge is based on what was acquired once long ago or recently, the previous one and serves as a stepping stone to raise our knowledge to a new level.

Hegel chose a spiral to describe this law, because it well shows the progress and regression of our knowledge. On the spiral, points can be noted at which our thinking goes into a higher state, however, when we stop moving upward, regression begins.

The law of unity and struggle of opposites

This principle can be called fundamental in all of Hegel's philosophy, since it is built precisely on the struggle of contradictions and their subsequent transition into synthesis.

The key definitions defining this law will be:

Identity.Expresses the equality of the object to itself. In the case of a person, self-awareness will be in view of this. Even rather self-awareness.

Differenceaccordingly expresses the inequality of the object to himself. Although I am aware of myself, but my thinking is constantly undergoing changes, I am not a complete Absolute, I am constantly developing and comparing myself with others.

Oppositesexpress those characteristics of the object that are completely different from each other, but they may well be part of one whole and coexist with each other.

Contradictionshegel’s cornerstone of all his philosophical thought. He considered them a prerequisite for moving forward, no matter whether this applies to an absolute idea or to human consciousness. Each statement must have a different side, contradicting this statement, which will be its complete opposite.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I would like to say that even though the Hegelian system is rather difficult to understand, the triple structure underlying it is undoubtedly worth considering. The basis of his philosophical system is unity and at the same time the struggle of opposites, without which no development is possible. Such a conflict, of course, does not make our lives easier, but it is thanks to it that a transition to higher levels of development is possible.

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A great philosopher and thinker whose ideas remain fundamental in the theory of idealism. The biography of Georg Hegel is full of scientific ideas that brought the scientist worldwide eternal glory. Hegel's works belong to the pinnacle of philosophical thought and are studied in modern universities as the basis and foundation of science.

Childhood and youth

In August 1770, Georg Ludwig Hegel was born in Stuttgart, who was destined to enter the history of philosophical science. My father served as a high-ranking official at the court of the Duke of Württemberg. Having such an origin, the boy received a first-class education. Father, who considers school education to be insufficient, invested manpower and money, additionally inviting teachers to his home.

The future philosopher himself adored studying, and reading became a passion. Even pocket money was spent on new books. The boy became a regular in the city library. The preference in the literature was given to scientific and philosophical works, as well as to the authors of antiquity. But the works of art, famous German classics, were not included in the circle of favorite books. In the gymnasium, the boy received awards for academic performance and diligence.

After graduating from high school in 1788, Hegel undergoes theological and philosophical courses at a theological seminary at the University of Tubingham. There, a young man defends a dissertation. During his student days he became close to Schelling and the poet Gelderlin. Being young and ardent, like the leading thinkers of that time, he is fond of the calls of the French revolutionaries, but he does not join them.

At the university, the fascination with reading and books continues, which amuses fellow students, but does not bother the young man at all. The worldly joys of youth are also not far from the student. Like friends, the future thinker drank wine, sniffed tobacco and periodically sat out evenings for gambling.

Hegel obtained a master's degree in philosophy, but the last three years of his studies are devoted to theology, although the student was critical of church and worship. Perhaps that is why, despite excellent exams, the young man did not become a priest.

Immediately after graduation, the young man earned by conducting classes for the children of wealthy Germans. Such work did not burden the future philosopher too much, made it possible to work on his own works and conduct scientific research. However, when after the death of his father in 1799, the young man inherited a small inheritance, he stops the teacher’s private work and immerses himself in creativity and science, as well as starts academic teaching service.

Philosophy and Science

The beginning of Hegel's fundamental ideas lies in the work, which is considered the founder of idealism. However, Hegel's philosophy in the process of development departed from Kant, having formed into an independent teaching.

The method of philosophy of the German thinker was called dialectics. The essence of the absolute idea of \u200b\u200bthe mind is that reality is known rationally, since the Universe itself is rational. And the reality in the absolute is just the mind, which reflects itself in the world.

Dialectics is the endless change of thesis antithesis. The philosopher, explaining the concept, believed that any thesis ultimately leads to an antithesis, but the process does not stop there, and the next step is the synthesis of two opposites.

The system of being according to Hegel consists of three stages - being in oneself, being for oneself and being in oneself and for oneself. A similar theory applies to the concepts of spirit and mind. Being initially a spirit in itself, spreading in space, it becomes a being for itself - nature. And nature is developing in consciousness, which in turn also goes through three stages.

The identical principle of dividing into three stages is also used by Hegel in the system of philosophy. Logic is the science of the spirit in itself; philosophy of nature is a science of spirit for oneself; and independent philosophy of spirit.

Significant areas of philosophy for society turned out to be ethics, state theory and the philosophy of history. According to Hegel’s teachings, the state is the highest manifestation of the spirit, the divine idea embodied on earth, that which the spirit created for itself. True, the philosopher notes that only the ideal is such a state. Reality is full of both good and bad states.

History, in turn, is defined as the science of the mind, where events occur according to the laws of the mind. Laws seem cruel and unfair, but they cannot be judged by standard standards. They pursue the goals of the world spirit, which are not immediately accessible to understanding within the framework of society.

Of course, such thoughts are enthusiastically accepted by society and the authorities. Gradually, the doctrine became the official philosophy of the state, although Hegel himself did not fully share the policy of the rulers of Prussia. Hegel's books are published in vast print runs and are studied at universities and institutes.

The first in the list of noticed and appreciated works was Phenomenology of the Spirit, which saw the light in 1807, where fundamental thoughts, ideas of absolutism and the laws of dialectics were formulated.

It should be noted that Hegel did not always clearly define the concepts used. In this regard, directions appear that combine the followers of the doctrine. Philosophers differently interpret the thoughts of the founder of dialectics and form their own laws for the development of absolute spirit.

At different times, Hegel’s teachings were also subjected to harsh criticism. Thus, a contemporary philosopher accused a colleague of quackery, and the doctrine of complete nonsense, presented in a deliberately confusing and foggy way.

Personal life

The post of rector in the Nuremberg gymnasium, received in 1808, did not bring much salary. At first, Hegel and his thoughts were not successful with students. However, as the popularity of the doctrine develops, books that have gained recognition in the higher circles, the lectures of the philosopher are collected by full audiences.

In 1811, Hegel decided to start a family and marry the daughter of noble parents, Maria von Tucher. The girl is half the age of her spouse, but adores a great husband, admiring the mind and achievements of the latter.

Hegel led the economy on his own, controlling the expenses and income of the family. The wife managed only one servant. The spouses began to have children. The first daughter died after birth, which often happened to young mothers of that time. And then the birth of two sons followed - Karl and Immanuel.

Family and household chores did not prevent the philosopher from devoting himself to science and writing new books. In 1816, the scientist received an invitation to give lectures as an ordinary professor at the University of Heidelberg. A year later, by decree of the king, he received a position in a professorship at the University of Berlin. At that time, Berlin was the center of intellectual thought, the cream of an enlightened and advanced society lived in the capital.

The scientist quickly got used to the new environment, expanded the circle of acquaintances. Among the new friends appeared ministers, artists, scientific minds. As contemporaries recalled in their memoirs, Hegel loved secular society, was aware of urban rumors. Loved the company of women, young ladies. The philosopher became famous as a real dandy. A significant part of the budget was spent on outfits for him and his wife.

In 1830, Hegel was appointed rector of the University of Berlin, and in 1831 he was awarded the Order of the Red Eagle of the 3rd degree for serving the state.

Death

In 1830, cholera came to Berlin. The philosopher and his family left the city in a hurry. However, already in October, believing that the danger had passed, the rector returned to service by the beginning of the semester. On November 14 of that year, the great scientist passed away.

According to doctors, a brilliant thinker passed away due to an epidemic that took thousands of lives, but a gastrointestinal disease remains a probable reason for passing away. Solemn funeral of the scientist took place on November 16.

Bibliography

1807 - "The Phenomenology of the Spirit"
1812-1816 - The Science of Logic
1817 - "Encyclopedia of Philosophical Sciences"
1821 - The Philosophy of Law

Hegel (Hegel) Georg Wilhelm Friedrich (1770-1831), a German philosopher who created a systematic theory of dialectics on an objectively idealistic basis. Its central concept - development - is a characteristic of the activity of the absolute (world spirit), its overtime movement in the field of pure thought in an ascending series of increasingly specific categories (being, nothing, becoming; quality, quantity, measure; essence, phenomenon, reality, concept, an object, an idea ending with an absolute idea), its transition to an alienated state of other being — into nature, its return to itself in a person in the forms of the individual’s mental activity (subjective spirit), super-individual “objective spirit” (rights oh, morality and "morality" - family, civil society, state) and "absolute spirit" (art, religion, philosophy as a form of self-consciousness of the spirit). Contradiction is an internal source of development described in the form of a triad. History is the "progress of the spirit in the consciousness of freedom", which is consistently realized through the "spirit" of individual peoples. The fulfillment of democratic demands was conceived by Hegel as a compromise with the estate system, within the framework of the constitutional monarchy. The main works: "Phenomenology of the spirit", 1807; "The Science of Logic", parts 1-3, 1812-16; "Encyclopedia of Philosophical Sciences", 1817; "Fundamentals of the philosophy of law", 1821; lectures on the philosophy of history, aesthetics, philosophy of religion, history of philosophy (published posthumously).

Hegel (Hegel) Georg Wilhelm Friedrich (August 27, 1770, Stuttgart - November 14, 1831, Berlin), German philosopher, creator of the system of "absolute idealism".

Life and works

Hegel was born in the family of a financial officer promoting a healthy lifestyle. At seven years old, he entered the Stuttgart gymnasium, where he showed abilities for ancient languages \u200b\u200band history. In 1788, after graduating from high school, he entered the Tubingen Theological Institute. Here he became friends with F.J. Schelling and the poet F. Gelderlin. As a student, Hegel admired the French Revolution (he subsequently changed his mind about it). According to legend, in these years he even planted a “tree of freedom” together with Schelling. In 1793, Hegel received a master's degree in philosophy. In the same year, he completed his education at the institute, after which he worked as a home teacher in Bern and Frankfurt. During this period, he creates the so-called "theological works", published only in the 20th century - "Folk Religion and Christianity", "Life of Jesus", "Positiveness of the Christian Religion".

Having received an inheritance, Hegel was able to pursue an academic career. Since 1801, he became a teacher at the University of Jena. He collaborates with Schelling in the publication of The Critical Philosophical Journal and writes the work The Difference Between Fichte and Schelling Philosophy Systems, in which Schelling is supported (their views later diverged). In the same 1801 he defended his dissertation "On the orbits of the planets." Hegel works hard to create his own system, trying a variety of approaches to its justification. In 1807, he published The Phenomenology of the Spirit, the first of his significant works. A number of vivid images of "Phenomenology" (part of the manuscript by which Hegel miraculously saved during the French invasion of Jena) is the "dialectic of the slave and the master" as a study of freedom, possible only through slavery, the concept of "unhappy consciousness" and others, as well as the powerfully declared the doctrine of the historicity of the spirit immediately attracted attention and is discussed to this day.

After leaving Jena, Hegel (with the help of his friend F.I. Nithammer) becomes the editor of the Bamberg Newspaper in Bavaria. Despite the moderate nature of the publications, the newspaper soon closes due to censorship reasons. From 1808 to 1816, Hegel was the director of the Gymnasium in Nuremberg. In 1811 he marries (he had several children in his marriage, he also had an illegitimate son), and soon publishes one of his central works - The Science of Logic (in three books - 1812, 1813 and 1815).

Since 1816, Hegel returned to university teaching. Until 1818 he worked in Heidelberg, and from 1818 to 1831 - in Berlin. In 1817, Hegel published the first version of the Encyclopedia of Philosophical Sciences, consisting of the Science of Logic (the so-called Small Logic, as opposed to the Big Logic of 1812–1815), Philosophy of Nature, and Philosophy of Spirit ( during Hegel's lifetime, the Encyclopedia was reprinted twice - in 1827 and 1833). In Berlin, Hegel became the "official philosopher", although he did not fully share the policies of the Prussian authorities. He publishes the Philosophy of Law (1820, 1821 at the title), conducts active lecture activities, writes reviews, and prepares new editions of his works. He has a lot of students. After the death of Hegel from cholera in 1831, students publish his lectures on the history of philosophy, philosophy of history, philosophy of religion and philosophy of art.

Hegel was a very unusual person. With difficulty choosing words when talking on ordinary topics, he interestingly talked about the most complicated things. Thinking, he could spend hours standing still, not paying attention to what was happening. In absent-mindedness, he might not have noticed the shoes remaining in the mud and continue walking barefoot. At the same time, he was the "soul of the company" and loved women's society. Petty-bourgeois stinginess combined with his breadth of soul, caution with adventurism. Hegel walked for a long time to his philosophical system, but starting, he immediately overtook his teachers and persecutors. Hegel's philosophy is dual. On the one hand, this is a complex and sometimes artificially tangled network of speculative deductions, on the other hand, aphoristic examples and explanations that sharply distinguish Hegel's style from the esoteric philosophizing of F. J. Schelling. Hegel’s philosophy, as well as the system of his aggressive rival A. Schopenhauer, has in some sense a “transitional” character, manifested in a combination of classical philosophy and new trends of the popular and practically oriented metaphysics, which captured leading positions in Europe in the middle of 19 in. The main pathos of Hegel's philosophy is the recognition of the logical "transparency" of the world, faith in the power of rational principles and world progress, the dialectic of being and history. At the same time, Hegel often avoided direct answers to fundamental questions, which made it difficult to interpret the ontological status of the most important concepts of his philosophy, such as an absolute idea or an absolute spirit, and generated a wide variety of interpretations of the structure and meaning of his system. The decisive influence on Hegel's philosophical views was exerted by the ideas of I. G. Fichte and F. J. Schelling. He was also seriously influenced by J.J. Rousseau and.

Speculative method

The methodological basis of Hegelian philosophy is the doctrine of speculative thinking. Although Hegel argues that the speculative method and its rules are deduced by the very movement of thought, and not pre-sent to its system, in reality such deduction is possible only in the field of speculative thinking, the methods of which should be known in advance. Speculative thinking contains three main points: 1) “rational”, 2) “negative-rational”, or “dialectical”, and 3) “positive-rational”, or actually “speculative”. The absolutization of the first or second moments, which in the “withdrawn” form are part of speculative thinking, leads to a sharp weakening of a person’s cognitive abilities. The rational component of thinking is based on the laws of identity and the excluded third. Reason divides the world with the principle of "either - or." He does not understand the true infinity. The dialectical aspect of thinking is the ability to discover internal contradictions in any finite definition. However, the absolutization of contradictions leads to total skepticism. Hegel believes that reason should not skeptically retreat before contradictions, but synthesize opposites. The ability of such a synthesis manifests a speculative moment of thinking. The synthetic ability of the mind allows you to build up the richness of thought. Hegel calls such building up the movement "from the abstract to the concrete." By concreteness, he understands the multiplicity connected by internal necessity, which is realized only by thinking. In order to achieve higher concreteness, that is, an idea of \u200b\u200bGod, philosophy must show itself as a continuous movement of thought from the emptyness of the empty "concept-in-itself" to the highest fullness of the absolute spirit.

"Everything real is rational; everything rational is real."
G. Hegel

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel is one of the founders of German classical philosophy and the philosophy of romanticism. He believed that the whole universe is a manifestation of world reason.

The whole world is philosophy

Georg Hegel, one of the greatest German philosophers

Some researchers called Hegel "a philosopher of philosophers" because he was the only representative of this science for whom philosophy was everything: cause, effect, and object of study, and tool. Other thinkers used philosophy as a means of knowing reality, but Hegel considered the whole world to be pure thinking, that is, philosophy.

The main idea of \u200b\u200bHegel's philosophy is that everything is reasonable in the world. The universe, the philosopher believed, is harmoniously and highly expediently arranged; everything in it is in its place and fulfills its purpose. In this regard, Hegel asks the question: could inanimate and unreasonable nature, that is, matter, itself create such a perfect system? His answer: no, I could not. Therefore, it can and should be assumed that there is a certain higher mind, which created the entire harmonious universe.

The whole physical world, Hegel argued, is a manifestation of a different reality, spiritual. She is supreme and ideal, and she creates the material universe. Similar idealistic ideas existed before Hegel: Plato called the highest reality “the world of ideas”, Hindu philosophy - Brahman. Hegel called the spiritual world the Absolute Idea and the World Mind and related this concept to God.

Until his death, the philosopher remained a believer. When he was on his deathbed, a friend asked him what he thought of God. Hegel pointed to the Bible lying at the head of the bed and said: "I need not invent anything, here all the wisdom of God."

“Truth is born of heresy, but dies by prejudice” (G. Hegel)

The development of an absolute idea

Developing the idea of \u200b\u200bthe existence of the Absolute Idea, Hegel came to the conclusion that it is in everything and passes through three stages in its development. The first stage is finding the Absolute Idea in itself, in an unmanifest state, in an ideal sphere. The philosopher called this ideal sphere logic. He does not use this word in the generally accepted sense; Hegel's logic is not science, but primary reality.

With the onset of the second stage, the Absolute Idea goes beyond logic and is embodied in the physical world, creating it. Thus, it turns out that the material world is not something independent, but just a manifestation of the Absolute Idea. Hegel called nature "frozen spirit." What does this definition mean? To better understand Hegel's idea of \u200b\u200breality, an analogy with the artist can be given. When there is a blank sheet in front of him, he already knows what should be depicted on it. What will be on a sheet of paper is first in his mind. But he can with the help of pencils and paints make the contents of his consciousness material. The Absolute Idea also works. It manifests what is in it, in material reality, creating this whole world.

At the third stage, the Absolute Idea returns again to the realm of the ideal - to the human consciousness, where it continues to exist. Here it takes on specific forms, becomes either scientific knowledge or art. Thus, the three stages of self-development of the Absolute Idea form a triad: the thesis passes into the antithesis, and completes the whole synthesis.

“No man can be a hero for his lackey. Not because a hero is not a hero, but because a footman is only a footman ”(G. Hegel)

History of World Spirit

“Half-hearted philosophy separates from God,” said Hegel, “true philosophy leads to God.” The philosophy of the Absolute Idea was closely connected with the understanding of Divine being. Hegel believed that God is not somewhere outside the world and the cosmos, but inside being, in every particle of it. The absolute idea that gives birth to the whole world and again returns to itself, this is God. God is a world spirit that reveals itself in different forms over and over and realizes itself through the human mind.

The philosopher called himself a "biographer of the world spirit." All human history is the history of the manifested spirit, which philosophy is studying. But philosophy cannot foresee how the spirit will manifest itself in the future, it only captures what has already happened, the future is hidden from it.

Hegel was not only a scientist, but also a teacher, and, according to eyewitnesses, his manner of lecturing was unique. His lessons were a kind of philosophical laboratory where the birth of truth took place right in front of the audience. He asked students questions that at that moment worried him, and along with them he went from misunderstanding and doubt to affirmation and confidence. It was difficult to perceive his lectures, but the results were impressive: all of Hegel's students became great lovers of philosophy.

“When a person commits one or another moral act, then he is not yet virtuous; he is virtuous only if this mode of behavior is a constant feature of his character ”(G. Hegel)

Read the biography of the philosopher thinker: facts of life, basic ideas and teachings

GEORGE WILHELM Friedrich Hegel
(1770-1831)

The German philosopher who created the theory of dialectics on an objectively idealistic basis. The Hegelian system, which completes the philosophy of the New Age, consists of three parts of logic, which considers the existence of God before the creation of the world, natural philosophy, which has the content of alienation of God from his creation to himself in the human spirit. In the end, logic again appears - this time performed by God in man, but not different in content from the first.

The main works are "Phenomenology of the Spirit" (1807), "Science of Logic" (1812-1815), "Encyclopedia of Philosophical Sciences" (1817, 1830), "Fundamentals of the Philosophy of Law" (1821), lectures on the philosophy of history, aesthetics, philosophy of religion, history of philosophy.

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel was born on August 27, 1770 in Stuttgart, in the family of a major official Georg Ludwig and his wife Maria Magdalene. Hegel's father, first the secretary of the accounts chamber, then the adviser to the expedition, "according to biographers," was distinguished by a strict nature and amazing accuracy.

In the years 1777-1787, Hegel attended the Latin school and gymnasium in Stuttgart. We learn about the multifaceted interests of the future philosopher from his extracts from what he has read, diaries and scientific papers. Hegel studied literature, history, mathematics, philosophy, pedagogy, etc. with great interest. He read the ancient Greek authors in originals. After graduating from high school, Hegel October 27, 1788 entered the Tubingen Theological Institute, where he attended a two-year philosophical and three-year theological courses, passing in 1793 the necessary exams.

However, Hegel owes his spiritual development mainly to independent studies and spiritual communication with friends - Gelderlin, who later became an outstanding poet, and Sheching, the future philosopher. Most of all friends were interested in philosophy. They carefully studied Plato, Kant and, of course, heatedly argued. However, not only scientific, but also political interests united young people. The young men were inspired by the ideas of the French bourgeois revolution, which they enthusiastically welcomed, their prophet at that time was Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

Friends entered a political club where they read and re-read French newspapers and vividly discussed the events of the French Revolution. Hegel's student years coincided with major political events in France, the storming of the Bastille, the overthrow of the monarchy, the execution of Louis XV and the coming to power of the Jacobins. These events were enthusiastically greeted by Hegel.

Together with Schelling and Gelderlin, Hegel participated in the symbolic planting of the "freedom tree" in 1791. Hegel later wrote about the French Revolution "it was a magnificent sunrise. All thinking beings celebrated this era. At that time a lofty, touching feeling reigned supreme, the world was enthusiastic, as if only now the real reconciliation of the divine with the world had come."

Hegel’s enthusiasm for the French Revolution was particularly evident in his youthful article “Popular Religion and Christianity,” work on which had begun in Tubingen and was interrupted in Bern. At the end of a theological institute, Hegel renounces the career of a pastor and goes to Bern, where he serves as a home teacher in the patriarchal family of Karl Ludwig Steiger. Here Hegel uses all his free time to read philosophical literature (Fichte, Schelling), to study the political and economic life of Switzerland, and also continues to closely monitor the development of events in France.

The fall of the Jacobin dictatorship, the counterrevolutionary coup of Thermidor 9, the formation of the Government of the Directory, the rise of Napoleon - these are the main milestones of the political history of France, which had a strong influence on the entire German ideology and, in particular, on the spiritual development of Hegel.

In the years 1793-1796, Hegel acts as a supporter of the republican form of government, has a negative attitude towards the feudal absolutist regimes prevailing in Germany at that time and the Catholic Christian religion, worships ancient democracy and preaches the need for active human intervention in public life with a view to changing it. Then he was an opponent of a policy of reconciliation with reality. Such sentiments were reflected in two manuscripts, The Life of Jesus (1795) and The Positiveness of the Christian Religion (1795-1796).

In 1797, Hegel returned to his homeland and, thanks to Gelderlin, received the position of home teacher in the family of the merchant Gogel in Frankfurt am Main. He continues to deal with political, historical and philosophical problems, writes a pamphlet "On Württemberg's Latest Internal Relations, Especially on the Organization of the Magistrate" (1798), which raises the question of the need for constitutional reforms in Württemberg.

In 1799, he ends the treatise "The Spirit of Christianity and Its Fate." Hegel's fascination with English political economy also dates to this period. He writes a commentary on Stuart's study, The Study of the Principles of Political Economy. Sorry, this comment has been lost. As you know, British economists had a strong influence on the philosopher, as evidenced by the Philosophy of Law, where Hegel again returns to the classics of English political economy.

In Frankfurt, Hegel gradually parted with dreams of a republic in the spirit of an ancient polis. Hegel's rejection of republican ideals is due to the fact that the revolutionary upsurge in France was replaced by a recession. This also determines the fact that the philosopher is now moving away from preaching the principle of active intervention in public life, which he had put forward before. Hegel is increasingly inclined to the idea of \u200b\u200bthe need for reconciliation with the inevitable laws of historical fate. He used to sharply criticize Christianity for preaching passivity. Now he appreciates the Christian religion. Most of all the philosopher begin to take up religious and ethical issues.

Dealing with philosophical problems during his stay in Frankfurt, Hegel sought to test his strength and in the pedagogical field of the University of Jena was the most suitable place for this thanks to the activities of Reinhold, Fichte and Schelling. The yen became the center of progressive German thought of that era. Rheingold already from 1787 popularized the teachings of Kant. As a follower of the Koenigsberg thinker, Fichte developed vigorous activity in Jena. As an extraordinary professor, he lectured Schelling.

In 1800, Hegel moved from Frankfurt to Jena. This move coincided with an important event - the conclusion of peace in Luneville. During his six years in Jena, Hegel developed vigorous teaching and literary activities. Here he gives lectures on logic, metaphysics, history of philosophy, mathematics, writes a large number of articles, where he tries to substantiate the system of objective-idealistic philosophy. In 1801, Hegel defended his dissertation on the topic "On the circulation of planets." Hegel’s opponents were witty about the fact that while the philosopher proved in his work that it was pointless to search for celestial bodies between Mars and Jupiter, the Italian scientist Piazzi a few months before Hegel defended his dissertations between Mars and Jupiter Ceres.

Hegel begins his literary work with the article "The Difference between the Systems of Philosophy of Fichte and Schelling" (1801), directed against the subjective-idealistic philosophy of Fichte. Jacobi Hegel devotes a number of articles to the criticism of the philosophies of Kant, Fichte, Schleiermacher, and published in the Critical Philosophical Journal, which he published together with Schelling. Fichte's philosophy was criticized by Friedrich Schelling. At first he himself stood on the Fichtean point of view. Then he moved to the position of the identity of the ideal and the real, that is, to the position of objective idealism. This position of the philosophy of identity was initially accepted by Hegel. However, soon differences between them are brewing. Schelling came up with religious mystical ideas during this period. Hegel did not agree with these ideas. The discrepancies between Schelling and Hegel deepened more and more, and with the publication of The Phenomenology of the Spirit (1807), they led to a final break.

Due to the fact that Napoleonic troops occupied Iena, studies at the university ceased. Hegel was forced to seek a new field for the application of his forces. Thanks to the patronage of his friend Nithammer, he receives the position of editor of the Bamberg Newspaper. Hegel believed that editing the newspaper would give him the opportunity to participate in political life. But the severity of censorship supervision, about which he had previously vague ideas, soon dispelled his illusions. In letters to Nithammer, Hegel reports that he is burdened by his work and considers it a waste of time. Nithammer again came to the aid of the philosopher through his patronage Hegel got the place of the director of the gymnasium in Nuremberg. Hegel remained in this position from 1808 to 1816.

In 1811, Hegel married. The marriage was successful Hegel dearly loved his beloved. "He who has a purpose in life and a good wife - he has everything," he said. The couple occupied a small but decent apartment. Directly opposite the exit was the living room, to the right - Hegel's study, then a bedroom, a nursery. Everything was visible order and accuracy. They lived quietly and modestly, occasionally made small trips around Germany. His wife was engaged exclusively in farming, but Hegel also found time to intervene in him. He was the "head and master" of the house in the full sense of the word. Thick interwoven notebooks have been preserved, in which the great philosopher carefully recorded all the expenses of the house, without neglecting a single cruiser or pfenning. He often repeated that life beyond its means is a source of immorality and misfortune.

The Nuremberg period of Hegel's activity coincides with liberal reforms in Prussia (1807-1813). Military defeats prompted the Prussian noble monarchy to embark on the path of reform, which was to strengthen its internal situation and restore military power.

In Nuremberg gymnasium, Hegel gives himself entirely to teaching and research. At this time, his main work was written “The Science of Logic” (1812-1816), which gives a systematic presentation of idealistic dialectics. However, administrative activity in the gymnasium was a burden for Hegel, and he wished to have an audience more interested in philosophical knowledge than the students of the gymnasium. Hegel persistently sought the opportunity to return to teaching and research and got a place at the University of Heidelberg.

By that time, the political situation in Germany had changed dramatically. The collapse of Napoleon’s empire was accompanied by the creation of a “Holy Alliance” of European monarchs to fight the liberation movements. In an introductory lecture given on October 28, 1816 at the University of Heidelberg, Hegel uttered the significant words "Prussian state, in particular, built on a sound basis." The Prussian government appreciated the Heidelberg speech of the philosopher. In 1817, the Minister of Frederick William III, Baron Altenstein, invited Hegel to lecture at the University of Berlin.

In the fall of 1818, Hegel, already known outside of Germany, became professor of philosophy at the University of Berlin. The conservative aspects of Hegel's philosophy were especially sharply revealed precisely at this time. This is evidenced by his Philosophy of Law, published in 1821, and lectures on the philosophy of religion, as well as on the philosophy of history, which he first began to read in Berlin and which were published after the death of the philosopher by his students. The seal of conservatism also lies in lectures on aesthetics, which he first read in Heidelberg. In the final lecture on The Philosophy of History, Hegel described the period of restoration as a "fifteen-year farce."

“Finally, after forty years of war and endless confusion,” said Hegel, “the old heart could rejoice, seeing that this situation had come to an end and a state of satisfaction had come.” Hegel did not understand the meaning of the July Revolution of 1830 in France, but appreciated the fact that it put an end to the dark era of restoration. The Philosophy of Law, the most conservative work, at the same time contains some liberal ideas, the requirement of the constitution, publicity of the court, etc.

In the years 1818-1831, Hegel continued to develop and improve his philosophical system. So, along with the courses on philosophy of religion and philosophy of history already mentioned above, Hegel gives lectures on logic, natural philosophy, anthropology, history of philosophy, psychology, philosophy of law, aesthetics. The Hegelian system in the Berlin period is fully completed. The strengthening of conservative tendencies in Hegel's philosophy during his years at the University of Berlin was also reflected in the fact that he began to pay very much attention to religious issues, directly pointing out the connection with his philosophical teachings.

During this period, the philosopher is actively engaged in publishing. On his initiative, the “Scientific Critical Journal” was published in Berlin, which lasted until 1846. The great popularity of Hegel is evidenced by the fact that in the 1829-1830 academic year he was elected rector of the university. One should not exaggerate the benevolent attitude of the Prussian government to Hegel's philosophical ideas.

In this regard, the message of the adviser to the Prussian Ministry for Higher Education Schulz is of great interest. In a letter to Guim, he writes that it would not be difficult for him to prove on the basis of facts that Hegel never used the particularly favorable attitude of the government here, that he was far from serving the reaction that had already begun at the Aachen congress, and that he could not reproach that he made his system a scientific refuge of the spirit of the so-called Prussian restoration. Most of Hegel's contemporaries claim that he remained faithful to the ideals of the French Revolution until the end of his life.

His negative attitude to extreme reaction is also known. He, for example, was at enmity with Schleiermacher, Haller, Savigny. It was because of the machinations of the reactionaries that he was not elected to the Prussian Academy.

The life of the philosopher was cut short unexpectedly. In the summer of 1831, a cholera epidemic spread in Germany. Hegel was one of her victims on November 14, 1831, he died. At the request of Hegel, he was buried next to the grave of Fichte.

Hegel had two sons from his wife Maria Gucher and one illegitimate son Hegel's youngest son Immanuel became a church official, Karl's middle son was a historian, Ludwig's oldest illegitimate son was a military man, he died before his father.

Hegel's most significant work is devoted to the origin of dialectics, as well as to the disclosure of the principle of absolute idealism to world domination of the world of reason, the Absolute Idea, which in its progressive development gives rise to surrounding reality. Consciousness in its movement develops from opposing the subject to absolute knowledge, that is, to the concepts of science. Thus, Hegel tried to uncover the genesis of philosophical knowledge, starting with sensory certainty. First, consciousness confronts an object that is independent of it and does not know either its nature or the essence of the object. In the second stage, consciousness takes possession of its own social nature and recognizes itself as a participant in historical events. When consciousness retrospectively observes its own path, it rises to the third stage of its development and reaches absolute knowledge.

In "The Phenomenology of the Spirit," Hegel, historically examining the whole path of consciousness, applies the principle of historicism and gives an interpretation of the social nature of consciousness, talks about the role of labor in its formation. It shows the historical need for the development of consciousness, which is expressed in various forms. However, at the stage of absolute knowledge, the development of consciousness stops.

The main sections of the Hegelian philosophical system are logic, the philosophy of nature, and the philosophy of spirit; the latter is adjoined by the philosophy of law, the philosophy of history, aesthetics, the philosophy of religion, and the history of philosophy. Hegel argued that the content of religion and philosophy is identical, they differ only in form in religion - representation, in philosophy - concept. Hegel regards religion as a specific form of knowledge. Religion, according to Hegel, is removed by a higher form of knowledge - philosophy, which has the task of developing logical categories and is the science of science. Hegel connects philosophy with the historical conditions of its existence, considering each philosophical system as an understanding of its modern era in the concept.

The history of philosophy is not just a list of opinions, but a regular process of achieving absolute truth. Hegel regarded his philosophical system as the completion of the development of philosophy. Hegel's merit lies in the fact that he developed a dialectical method of understanding the world. Hegel developed the issues of the relationship of movement, development and the transformation of quantitative changes into qualitative ones, questions about the nature of theoretical thinking, about logical forms and categories in which this theoretical thinking is carried out.

Hegel made a great contribution to his understanding of the method of science. The method, according to Hegel, is not a combination of artificial devices invented by man and not depending on the subject of research. The method is a reflection of the real connection, movement, development of the phenomena of the objective world. Hegel showed that cognition is a historical process. Therefore, truth is not the finished result of knowledge, forever given, it is constantly evolving, the logical forms in which truth is developing are objective in nature.

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