Class Notes on Hegel

(Originally Written April 24, 2006 in 3 Subject Book)

History of Philosophy II

Hegel

-agrees with Plato that knowledge is acquired through a dialectical method
-Yet, Plato's and Hegel's dialectical methodologies vastly differ

Existence (apparent & publicly manifest)
Essence (the hidden and internal)

The in between of existence and essence is actuality

example: The in between of Being and Non-Being is becoming

Master-Slave Dialectic

-Slave (labor, objectification)
-Master (desire, consumption)
-There is conflict and domination between the two
-The product of the slave's labor and the master's desire leads to the object being created

Political Philosophy:

Three moments of the Ethical
1) Family
2) Civil Society
3) The State

History is teleological: it has a goal, which for Hegel, is freedom

The Hegelian & Christian God

Being itself, the totality (Hegel) v. Infinite being that is still distinct from the world (Christian)
Self-thinking thought (Hegel) v. Spirit with thoughts distinct from itself (Christian)
Immanence without transcendence (Hegel) v. Immanence with transcendence (Christian)
God of process of becoming (Hegel) v. Primordial being, which is immutable (Christian)

Criticisms of Hegel
-Too abstract
-Too esoteric
-Not grounded enough in experience
-Hegel's theology is not Biblically backed
-Dialectical method can justify things that are problematic (Dewey & Marx)