Hegel's Philosophy

Hegel's Philosophy

• Hegel believed in the universe as an interrelated unity, which he called the Absolute.
• He thought that human history and the human intellect progress towards the Absolute via the dialectic process.
• True knowledge can only be attained by understanding the Absolute, not by examining isolated instances.

The Dialectic Process

• The dialectic process involves an original idea, its negation, and a synthesis of the two.
• The synthesis becomes the starting point for the next cycle of the developmental process.
• Hegel's version of the dialectic process consists of a thesis, an antithesis, and a synthesis.
• When a cycle is completed, the previous synthesis becomes the thesis for the next cycle.

Hegel's Influence on Psychology

• Hegel strongly influenced Fechner, which contributed to the development of psychophysics and experimental psychology.
• The phenomenological tradition in early German psychologists, including Gestalt psychology, is indebted to Hegel.
• Freud's early consideration of the human will was explicitly Hegelian, and some see his concepts of the id, ego, and superego as a manifestation of the dialectic process.

Hegel's Influence on Other Philosophies

• The romantics and existentialists formed their philosophies in opposition to Hegel.
• The roots of self-actualization theory, as seen in Rogers and Maslow, can be found in Hegel's philosophy as well as those opposing romantics and existentialists.

Hegel's View on the Individual and the State

• Hegel believed that the individual's relationship with the state is like that of the eye to the body: the individual is part of a valuable whole, but isolated they are useless.

Explore the key concepts of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel's philosophy, including the Absolute, dialectic process, and unity of the universe. Learn about his views on human history, intellect, and true knowledge.