This is my Philosophy Professor Emeritus at Tulane University (the Harvard of the South)----we were discussing Hegel, and his Hegelian Dialectic---the thesis+anti-thesis=synthesis. We were discussing the Hegelian Dialectic in Hegels Philosophy of History as opposed to his Phenomenology of the Spirit! Let me see how much of my Hegel I remember---the Hegelian Dialectic in his, Philosophy of History is more historically related ---as in Ancient Romes History, for example, Romes, thesis, was rule by Kings or Emperors, Romes, anti-thesis, would be Romes Rule-- by The Senate, and then, the synthesis of Romes Rule-- by both Emperors and The Senate. The Hegelian Dialectic in Hegels treatise, Phenomenology of the Spirit, is more subjective, and it concerns the 3 stage development of the consciousness, or Spirit (Spirit is defined as a pantheist atheistic redefinition of God as nature, or consciousness, where in the first stage would be, unconsciousness, or the Spirit, where the Spirit is not aware of the mind, or has not acquired it yet, the second stage, or dialectic, where the mind has been acquired, but it misperceives everything as something other than what it is in itself, and the third stage, where self-consciousness, or the Spirit, realizes what it really is, all reality, including all human minds, and that it is, the Divine, or God, but not a supernatural God of theism. Hegel has been praised or blamed for the political and philosophical development of Fascism, Marxism, Communism, death of God philosophy (Nietzsche), existentialism, historicist nihilism, etc. An example of The Hegelian Dialectic in practice in respect the Phenomenology of the Spirit, or consciousness, would be: unconscious and unity, the thesis, the anti-thesis, consciousness and separation, and then, the synthesis, consciousness and unity. Hegelian Dialect usually combines two concepts in each stage, i.e., thesis, anti-thesis, the synthesis included. Now class ----this has been a brief exploration of German idealism, post Emanuel Kant! Again, it helps when you had a Philosophy Professor that looks like this lady that I had at Tulane university, the Harvard of the South--especially as she is dressed---this tends to inspire philosophical thought! One can see where Freud was influenced Hegels discussion of consciousness, and also psycho-analysis--- even--- in theoretical Physics, particle physics, was influence by Hegels Treatise on Phenomenology. To say that Hegel was one the most influential modern western philosophers----- would be the mother of all understatements! If you are wondering, the most widely accepted highly influential philosophers were Plato, Aristotle, St. Thomas Aquinas (Neo-Aristotelian), St. Augustine (Neo-Platonist), Emmanuel Kant, and Hegel----all other philosophers were secondary to these giants in western philosophy!!!
Posted on: Mon, 27 Jan 2014 06:06:07 +0000
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