TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
1.0. IDEALISM AND ITS
MEANING .. .. .. .. 1
1.1. KINDS OF
IDEALISM .. .. .. .. .. 5
1.1.1. SUBJECTIVE
IDEALISM .. .. .. .. 5
1.1.2. OBJECTIVE IDEALISM .. .. .. .. 6
CHAPTER
TWO
2.0. THE
FOUNDATION OF HEGELIAN IDEALISM .. 9
2.1 THE IDEALIST
LINEAGE: HIS PRECURSORS .. .. 10
2.2. HEGELIAN IDEALISM: AN
OVERVIEW .. .. 14
2.3 DERIVATION OF THE
DOCTRINE .. .. .. 17
CHAPTER
THREE
3.0. CRITICAL EXPOSITION OF
HEGELIAN IDEALISM .. 21
3.1 HEGEL ON ETHICS AND POLITICS .. .. 23
3.1.1. THE STATE AND THE INDIVIDUAL IN
HEGEL .. .. 24
3.2 DETERMINISM IN HEGELIAN
IDEALISM .. .. 26
3.3 EXISTENTIALIST REACTION
AGAINST HEGELIAN IDEALISM.. . 29
3.3.1 HEGELIAN CONCEPTS OF FREEDOM; CHOICE
AND RESPONSIBILITY: AN
EXISTENTIALIST VIEW. .. 32
3.4 TRANSFORMATION OF HEGELIAN
IDEALISM: FURTHER CRITICISMS .. 37
CHAPTER
FOUR
4.0 THE IMPLICATIONS OF HEGELIAN IDEALISM
FOR THE INDIVIDUAL HUMAN PERSON .. .. .. 41
4.1 HEGELIAN
SYSTEM: SELF – ALIENATION OF THE INDIVIDUAL.. 43
4.2 EROSION OF AUTHENTICITY AND
UNIQUENESS .. 45
4.3 DEPERSONALIZATION OF THE
INDIVIDUAL HUMAN PERSON .. 48
CHAPTER
FIVE
5.0 EVALUATION AND
CONCLUSION .. .. .. 50
5.1. CRITICAL EVALUATION .. .. .. .. .. 50
5.2. CONCLUSION. .. .. .. .. .. .. 57
BIBLIOGRAPHY .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 59
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
Throughout
the history of philosophy, one peculiar trait has marked all the philosophers
and served as their uniting factor. It is the desire to form a coherent and
unified interpretation of reality natural to the reflective mind. Starting from
the Greek philosophers, this trait is found in their quest for the “urstoff” of
all that exists (thereby remaining cosmocentric in their interpretation)
through the theocentric interpretation of the medieval era. In the light of
this trait, the modern period becomes over-laden with anthropocentricism. In
sum, we can bluntly say that philosophy has this single task of forming a
unified interpretation of reality to perform.
However, the actual task to be performed presents itself in different
ways at different times. For example, the development of physical science in
the post-mediaeval world meant that the philosopher who wished to construct an
overall interpretation had to grapple with the problem of reconciling the
scientific view of the world as a mechanical system with the demands of the
moral and religious consciousness. Descartes was faced with this problem. And
so was Kant. Even though kant rejected the ways of dealing with this problem
which were characteristic of his predecessors and offered his own original solution,
it is arguable that in the long run he left us with a “bifurcated reality”.
On the other hand, a supersensous world of the free agent is provided. There is
no valid reason to assert the existence of the phenomenal realm, as well as a
theoretical proof of the supersensuous reality. Even though Kant made effort to
bridge the gap between the two realities in a way comprehensible to the remote
mind, he however related a problem which the German idealists refused to pass
over in silence. Thus, German idealism culminating in Hegel, made effort to
make the whole of reality intelligible to the human mind, provided that this
mind can be regarded as the vehicle, as it were of absolute thought reflecting
on itself. The result of this was the Absolute idea in Hegel’s philosophy or
Hegelian idealism.
The point to be made is that Hegel’s point of departure was the theme of
the relation between the infinite and the finite or more precisely, between the
universal, collectivity and the individual. Hegel evaluated everything on the
platform of the Absolute infinite, making the finite, including the human
person, a product of the Absolute, and universal. Now, a mind-boggling question
surges up: what is actually the role of the individual in this universal? It is
obvious at this point that Hegel in order to solve the Kantian dualism created
an existential problem for the individual human person who appears to be at sea
in the whole Hegelian set up.
Hence the
problem, which obviously faced Hegel as an idealist, was that of including, as
it were, the finite within the life of the infinite without depriving the
former of its reality. The difficulty of
solving this problem is responsible for a good deal of ambiguity in
metaphysical idealism when it is a question of defining its relation to theism
on the one hand and Pantheism on the other. However, the problem lingered on
and constituted the fundamental springboard of existentialist trend. As such,
it becomes consistent to ask: How can the human person become fully himself,
free and independent in this existential order vis-à-vis the Hegelian
abstraction that kept his reality or rather existence somewhere beyond this
order. Could the individual human person be said to be free, responsible and
actually existing yet remaining a moment in the “self-development” of the
absolute thought or universal. If the state is the supreme will of the
individual and if the individual exists for the good of the state as an
institution, is the human person free from this mere objectification or
relegation? How could this utilitarian principle of the many against one
contribute to his survival? How could man’s authenticity be assured in this
all-consuming absolute universal? In the present era, the submerging of the
individual takes other forms in the society. These forms constitute the various
ways the implications of Hegelian idealism become evident in our society. The
powerful evidence towards political and social totalitarianism with its
reduction of personal responsibility and its evaluation of personal value in
terms of service to the collectivity are not apart from these forms and
consequent implications. This constitutes a hard nut to crack as there arises
the need to reaffirm the free individual in the face of this powerful tendency.
PURPOSE
OF THE STUDY
In the
light of the foregone (statement of the problem), one easily discovers the task
or aim of the whole work. The work is an effort to reinstate the concrete
existence of the individual human person which has been swallowed up in
abstractions through absolute idealism. Thus, it is primarily targeted on Hegel
who is a prime absolute idealist, and it is a reaction against the abstraction
of his idealism, which has depersonalized the individual human person. This
would be more effectively done via existentialist emphasis on man to restore
the essence of individual human person. Thus, it is a piece of evaluative
criticism of idealism with
Hegel as a reflex point.
SCOPE
OF STUDY
Within
the limits of this consideration, the work even though it exposes idealist
tenets, does not claim an absolute and total exposition. Even at that, it does
not expose these tenets to empty idealism of its content. However, in order not
to build on the blues, Hegelian idealism is chosen as the reflex or focal point
of our reflections. Be that as it may, the work does not claim to expose
equally the whole edifice of Hegelian system, but exposes through critical
inquiry and analysis some aspects of this system as it relates to the
individual human person. Even when the writer toes the existentialist line in
his criticism, he does not claim to exhaust all themes of the existentialist in
order to buttress the deficiencies of Hegelian system.
METHOD
OF STUDY
In line
with the purpose of this work, the method employed here is simply expository.
This exposition would be addressed via critical analysis and evaluative
techniques in order to produce a comprehensive corpus that suits the entire
intellectual edifice.
DIVISION
OF WORK
The work is divided into five chapters that are linked to one another
with each succeeding stage being a further elaboration of the preceding one.
The work comprises one theme running through all chapters but in a
developmental manner from the first to the last chapter. Chapter one delves
into idealism that exposes Hegel as an idealist. Chapter two discusses the
idealist predecessors of Hegel as the springboard of Hegelian idealism. This
gives us the impetus for a critical exposition of the system to be made in
chapter three. Having critically exposed Hegelian idealism, a room was created
for the fourth chapter that draws out the implications of this system for the
individual. Lastly, chapter five aims at practical solutions by evaluating the
two sides of the human person: individuality and collectivity. Consequently,
the curtain is drawn with the writer’s standpoint on the whole quagmire.
A SHORT BIOGRAPHY OF HEGEL
George Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, greatest of German Idealists and one of
the renowned philosophers of western tradition was born at Stuttgart on August
27th, 1770. He was the oldest son of a minor state
official. In his school years at Stuttgart the future philosopher was not
spectacular. However, at this period, his attraction to the great genius,
especially the plays of Sophocles and above all in the Antigone was evident. At
the age of eighteen he entered the University of Tubingen as a student of
theology. However, he showed little aptitude for theology. The certificate
which he received in 1793 commended his excellent talents but declared that his
industry and knowledge were mediocre and above all deficient in philosophy. He
seems to have profited most from the companionship of his friends, notably
Holderlin and Schelling, with whom he read Kant and Plato. The friends studied
Rousseau together and shared a common enthusiasm for the ideals of the French
Revolution, which obviously might have stirred up in Hegel the later
development of his philosophical ideals.
After his stay in Tubingen, Hegel became a family tutor at Berne in
Switzerland and Frankfurt respectively. During his residence in Switzerland he
wrote a life of Jesus, a critique of positive religion and several studies in
the history of religion. Later, his attention turned to questions of economics
and government, and he left writings on the reform of the Prussian land laws, a
commentary on James Stuart’s Political Economy, and other studies of similar
character which have since been published. In 1800, he produced a sketch, which
is generally regarded as the first systematic statement of his philosophy.
At the time, when Schelling was in his heydays, Hegel made a request
from Schelling demanding him to suggest a suitable town for a brief period of
studious withdrawal as well as “a good beer”. He joyfully acclaimed the success
of his friend in the academic world, which spurred on ambitions in him (Hegel).
Consequently, he said: “the ideal of my youth has necessarily taken a
reflective form and been transformed into a system… how can I return to
influencing the life of mankind?” Shelling must have given him an
enthusiastic answer which pushed him into abandoning his previous plans and
joined him (Schelling) at Jena. At the university, he became a privatdocent (an unsalaried university lecturer)
and gradually famous, through the series of lectures he delivered. As such,
before Schellings’s departure from Jena, in 1803, he and Hegel collaborated in
the publication of the journal of critical philosophy. This work however,
strengthened the impression that Hegel was to all intents and purposes a
disciple of Schelling.
On the contrary, with the publication of his first great work, The
Phenomenology of Spirit (1807), Hegel showed his divergence from Schelling. It
was while he was engaged in the details of publication of this work that his
academic career was brought abruptly to a halt by the Napoleonic campaign
culminating in the battle of Jena in the autumn of 1806.
The “Phenomenology of spirit” appeared in 1807 despite the war, but
Hegel himself was at loose ends. Two volumes of his science of logic were
published in 1812, and a third in 1816, and he was offered professorships at
Erlanges, Heidelberg, and Berlin. He accepted the invitation to Heidelberg, but
after the publication of his “Encyclopedia of the philosophical sciences” in
1817, the offer of Berlin was renewed and accepted and he occupied the vacant
chair following the death of Fichte.
His
thirteen years of professorship at the University of Berlin brought him to the
peak of his career and made him a recognized leader of philosophic thought in
German world. His prestige thus rose until his name was linked with that of
Goethe. His publication of “The philosophy of Right”, was significant as the
last of the large works published in his life time. His lectures on aesthetics,
the philosophy of religion, the philosophy of history, and the history of
philosophy were constantly revised and improved and finally published posthumously.
In 1830, he became the rector of the university and was decorated by Frederick
William III of university of Berlin until his death from Cholera in 1831 at the
age of sixty-one.
CHAPTER ONE
1.0.
IDEALISM AND ITS MEANING.
The desire to form a coherent and unified interpretation of
reality is natural to the reflective mind. But the actual task to be performed
presents itself in different ways at different times. Thus, the reflective
thinker makes effort to improve on whatever ways his predecessors had handled
the task. Rather put in another way, he proffers new solution to the problems
that emanate from the prior solutions of his predecessors. When there is an
evident uniting factor in solution proffered by philosophers of a particular
period, they are often grouped as belonging to one movement. Idealism as
philosophical movement is not far from the above elaboration since there exists
a uniting factor among the idealist philosophers.
Thus, in line with Bittle we
say that:
Idealism arose out of the difficulty of understanding
how the human mind can transcend itself and know extra-mental reality.
As such, what is emphasized
above is the primacy of consciousness. However, it could be noted that Kant
maintained the essential dualism of thought and thing, subject and object, mind
and matter, and in fact in Bittle’s estimation,
Kant’s Philosophy left the antithesis between mind and
matter, noumenon and phenomenon, the thing in itself and the ego-unsolved.
Therefore, Kant promoted the
Monistic approach of his followers – Fichte, Schelling and Hegel as a result of
his inability to explain these opposing elements in human knowledge.
Idealism is thus the system of
philosophy that gives primacy to idea or spirit in its conception of reality.
It holds that reality including the physical world is ultimately spiritual or
immaterial. It maintains that matter is ultimately reducible to ideas or
spiritual substance. In point of fact, idealism is
anti-materialistic as well as anti-naturalistic as it upholds the spirit or
mind. In the words of S. Sprigge, Idealism in its philosophical sense is “the
view that mind is the most basic reality and that the physical world exists
only as an appearance to or an expression of mind or somehow mental in its
essence”. It is strongly opposed to
Realism. It is therefore the denial of the common sense realist’s view that
material things exist independently of being perceived. In fact, idealism
represents a doctrine or the philosophical movement, which holds that mind,
consciousness or some spiritual values is primary. Ordinarily speaking,
idealism squares with the acceptance and living by some moral and religious
standards or the visualization, that is, imagining and advocating some plan or
programme that does not yet exist. Also in its monistic sense, it can embody
the vision of life of particular or individual human beings being engineered
from a universal institutionalized principle. Broadly speaking, it refers to
any theoretical or practical view that emphasizes mind, soul, spirit, life in
its interpretation or explanation of the ultimate reality. It asserts that reality
consists of ideas, thoughts, minds, or selves rather than of material objects
and forces.
It is the view that mind is the
ultimate reality and that the physical world is mind- dependent. However, a
philosophy which makes the physical world dependent upon mind is usually also
called “idealist” even if it postulates further some hidden more basic reality
behind the mental and physical scenes (for example kant’s things
in-themselves). There is also a certain tendency to restrict the term
“idealism” to systems for which what is basic is mind, of a somewhat lofty
nature so that “spiritual values” are the ultimate shapers of reality, constructing
as well as engendering it. According to T. Harold, idealism simply is:
a world view or a metaphysics which holds that the
basic reality consists of or is closely related to mind, ideas, thought, or
selves.
In fact, what the idealists
want us to accept is that the “world can be interpreted via the study of laws
of thought and consciousness, and not exclusively by the objective method of
science, since the world has a meaning beyond appearances. Idealism holds that
the mind is in some sense prior to matter and as such, the latter remains the
by-product of the former. Reality becomes meaningful in reference to the
activity of the mind. Instead of denying nature, and matter, it divinizes and
spiritualizes them respectively.
In a broad perspective, idealism
includes all the philosophers who maintain that spiritual forces determine the
universal process in contrast to naturalistic philosophers who view these
forces as manifesting at some latter stage in the cosmological process. On the
other hand, when considered in a narrow perspective, all philosophers who
regard the universe as radically dependent on the consciousness, mind or
spirit, fall under idealism.
1.1. KINDS OF IDEALISM
The examination of the various kinds of
idealism would constitute, without doubt, a further elaboration on the meaning
of idealism. There are basically two kinds of idealism, namely, subjective
idealism and objective idealism. We would briefly examine them one after the
other.
1.1.1. SUBJECTIVE IDEALISM
Subjective idealism is the view
that:
Physical objects are all products of the mind and that
they do not exist independently of the mind. It maintains that the subject of
experience (the mind) is the cause of the objects of its experience (physical
things) that the latter are constituted and made to exist by the former.
From the above, the project of
subjective idealism becomes eloquent as the existence of the material world
depends on the mind of the thinker. As such, citing Berkeley and Kant as prime
examples of this view drives home more the message. Berkeleyan dictum: “esse
est Percipi”, “to be is to be perceived” directs every reality to the
perceiving mind and as such, all physical objects are all ideas in the mind. It
is the fact of this being perceived by the mind that brings them into existence
and keeps them in existence for as long as they are being perceived. Kant on
his own part maintains that the physical objects are structured by the mind.
This the mind achieves through the imposition of its own categories on the
objects and as such, the objects appear to us according to the structure of the
mind. Thus, the phenomenal world (the world of the senses) is then the product
of the human mind. According to Ben Okwu Eboh,
Ideas exist because they are perceived by some minds.
Minds are perceivers. What anything would or could be apart from being known,
no one can think or say, we can say then that for the subjective idealists what
we see or think is mind-dependent, and our world is a mental world.
1.1.2. OBJECTIVE IDEALISM.
This kind of idealism holds
that the physical world / universe is the self-projection (self-manifestation, self-externalization,
self-expression) of a spiritual reality which goes by various names – the
universal mind, the Absolute, the Absolute Spirit, the universal consciousness
etc. Thus, the physical universe is ultimately spiritual; matter is not an
independent substance, but only a reflection of spirit, the mode of its
self-expression, self-projection or self-manifestation. This particular kind of
idealism was popular at the time of Plato, the German idealists: Fichte,
Schelling, Hegel, and the British neo-idealists. To underscore fully what
objective idealism stands for, a review into the thoughts of some of its
proponents becomes necessary.
Plato who toed the footprints
of Socrates was an avowed ancient idealist. He opines that “the life of reason
was the focus from which all else stems”. This marks him out as an
objective idealist. Illustrating this further, Danald Butler says:
There are ideas, according to Plato, which are so real
and enduring that objects of sense are fleeting as compared to them. In fact,
physical objects are only imperfect embodiments of ideas i.e. of the respective
ideas, which they represent.
However, while reality is immaterial
for Plato he does not at the same time deny the material world, rather he
opines that the material world is dependent on the mind or put simply, a
reflection of the idea.
For the modern objective
idealists, most prominently Hegel, the universe is subsumed in one
all-embracing order and this order is due to the ideas or purposes of an
absolute mind. Hegel thus is of the opinion that the underlying factor or the
essence of the universe is the total objectification of spirit or mind. Simply
put, the universe is an unfolding process of thought. Nature is the absolute
reason expressing itself in an outward form.
With the above clarifications
on idealism and its kinds, a careful observer would obviously fish out the bone
of contention of this work. Having seen the uniting factor of idealism,
dependence of the universe on the mind, one discovers immediately that the
independence of all particulars, that is, all finite beings is at risk. Since
the mind objectifies itself in the world in the form of universals especially
as spearheaded by the objective or absolute idealist with its peak in Hegel,
the independence of the particulars, individuals is on a shaky ground. Now, the
question would be: what are the universals? Of course, the Hegelian concept of
the universals is not far-fetched for he opines that they are manifest in
institutions of the state. As such, he emphasizes the collectivity to the
detriment of the individuality. It is on this note that we pick on Hegelian
kind of idealism to critically expose the implications of this swallowing up of
the individual inherent therein.
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