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Hegel's Doppelsatz: A Neutral Reading

Robert Stern

in Hegelian Metaphysics

In the Preface to the Philosophy of Right, Hegel writes that ‘what is rational is actual; and what is actual is rational’. This so-called Doppelsatz has been much discussed, with commentators ... More

In the Preface to the Philosophy of Right, Hegel writes that ‘what is rational is actual; and what is actual is rational’. This so-called Doppelsatz has been much discussed, with commentators offering both conservative and progressive readings of Hegel's meaning. This chapter takes a different approach, arguing that the Doppelsatz should be understood in a normatively neutral way, claiming instead that it is a defense of Hegel's philosophical rationalism, and his belief that the political world is amenable to the sort of rational investigation he offers in the Philosophy of Right.Less

System

Thom Brooks

in Hegel's Political Philosophy: A Systematic Reading of the Philosophy of Right

This chapter presents a very general picture of Hegel's system and its logic. The aim is to provide a view that is acceptable both to commentators who believe that Hegel presents a strong ... More

This chapter presents a very general picture of Hegel's system and its logic. The aim is to provide a view that is acceptable both to commentators who believe that Hegel presents a strong metaphysical account and to those who believe that he does not. The chapter argues that, whichever side we find ourselves on, we can agree upon certain basic features of Hegel's system and the Philosophy of Right's place within it. These features include an understanding of (a) the dialectical structure of Hegel's arguments; and (b) the technical vocabulary Hegel employs in his arguments. The chapter is organized as follows. It offers a general background explanation of Hegel's system and its logic, with the primary aim of making clear the relationship between Hegel's system and his Philosophy of Right. The chapter begins with an analysis of Hegel's logic that underpins his wider system. This is followed by an explanation of how the logic relates to his wider system, and then, by how this system relates to the Philosophy of Right.Less

Introduction

Thom Brooks

in Hegel's Political Philosophy: A Systematic Reading of the Philosophy of Right

This introductory chapter begins with a discussion of the reception of G. W. F. Hegel's Elements of the Philosophy of Right. It then provides the systematic reading of Hegel's work, and addresses the ... More

This introductory chapter begins with a discussion of the reception of G. W. F. Hegel's Elements of the Philosophy of Right. It then provides the systematic reading of Hegel's work, and addresses the question of why the non-systematic approach is often a non-metaphysical one. Finally, the chapter sets out the purpose of the book, which is to provide a modest systematic reading of the Philosophy of Right (which we might call a weak systematic reading) that demonstrates the necessity of the systematic account.Less

Conclusion

Thom Brooks

in Hegel's Political Philosophy: A Systematic Reading of the Philosophy of Right

This chapter presents some concluding thoughts from the author. This book has argued for a systematic reading of Hegel's Philosophy of Right. This reading is both consistent with Hegel's own ... More

This chapter presents some concluding thoughts from the author. This book has argued for a systematic reading of Hegel's Philosophy of Right. This reading is both consistent with Hegel's own self-understanding of his project and offers a more robust interpretation of the Philosophy of Right, providing a clear advance on existing studies of this text. A principal target throughout has been Allen Wood's influential non-systematic reading of the Philosophy of Right in his Hegel's Ethical Thought. Throughout, a philosophical defence of Hegel's positions has been avoided. Instead, the focus has been to make explicit a more robust understanding of Hegel's positions on important topics in his political and legal philosophy.Less

Hegel and Free Will

Christopher Yeomans

in Freedom and Reflection: Hegel and the Logic of Agency

In addition to setting out the problem of free will as a problem generated by our commitment to the explicability of the world or the principle of sufficient reason, this chapter accomplishes two ... More

In addition to setting out the problem of free will as a problem generated by our commitment to the explicability of the world or the principle of sufficient reason, this chapter accomplishes two tasks. First, it explains why extant interpretations of Hegel's theory of agency that do not engage the causal structure of agency or the modern problem of free will necessarily fall short of articulating Hegel's view as a full theory of self-determination. Most importantly, it argues that for Hegel, the problem of expression is fundamentally a problem concerning the balance between self- and other-determination in productive activity, a problem Hegel terms of the problem of reflection. Second, the chapter briefly traces Hegel's basic theory of free will in the Introduction to his Philosophy of Right.Less

A Civic Humanist Idea of Freedom

Alan Patten

in Hegel's Idea of Freedom

Explores and partially defends Hegel's claim that freedom is most fully realized through membership in the modern state. It contrasts Hegel's ‘civic humanist’ understanding of this claim with the ... More

Explores and partially defends Hegel's claim that freedom is most fully realized through membership in the modern state. It contrasts Hegel's ‘civic humanist’ understanding of this claim with the social contract theory's view of the relationship between freedom and the state. The chapter also argues against those commentators (e.g. Isaiah Berlin and Allen Wood) who see something sinister in the Hegelian association of freedom with the state. In developing its interpretation, the chapter considers Hegel's distinction between state and civil society and it offers an overview of the basic structure of Hegel's main work of political philosophy—the Philosophy of Right.Less

Property

Thom Brooks

in Hegel's Political Philosophy: A Systematic Reading of the Philosophy of Right

This chapter begins by explaining how the section ‘Subjective Spirit’ is related to the Philosophy of Right. Central to this explanation is the development of the free will from one section to the ... More

This chapter begins by explaining how the section ‘Subjective Spirit’ is related to the Philosophy of Right. Central to this explanation is the development of the free will from one section to the other. This view helps us make best sense of the primary problem of the Philosophy of Right, namely, how the free will can will freely, and not arbitrarily. The chapter explains why Hegel's views on property ownership in abstract right are primarily illustrative of the initial development of the free will, rather than a complete theory of property, as many have maintained. If this position is correct, then we cannot present a picture of Hegel's theory of property that exclusively considers abstract right, nor can we understand abstract right as a realm of private law. This position is best arrived at after grasping the relation of the abstract right within the Philosophy of Right and Hegel's larger philosophical system.Less

Monarchy

Thom Brooks

in Hegel's Political Philosophy: A Systematic Reading of the Philosophy of Right

Perhaps one of the most controversial aspects of G. W. F. Hegel's Philosophy of Right for contemporary interpreters is its discussion of the constitutional monarch. This chapter first argues that ... More

Perhaps one of the most controversial aspects of G. W. F. Hegel's Philosophy of Right for contemporary interpreters is its discussion of the constitutional monarch. This chapter first argues that Hegel's justification of the constitutional monarch is established with the use of his logic, and then considers the question of whether or not it matters who serves as the monarch. It examines the domestic and foreign powers of the monarch, and argues against the virtual consensus of recent interpreters that Hegel's monarch is far more powerful than has been previously understood. In part, Hegel's monarch is perhaps even more powerful than Hegel himself may have realised, and certain inconsistencies with some of his claims are demonstrated. The present interpretation is a distinctive break from the virtual consensus on Hegel's monarch, without endorsing the view that Hegel was a totalitarian.Less

Punishment

Thom Brooks

in Hegel's Political Philosophy: A Systematic Reading of the Philosophy of Right

Amongst contemporary theorists, the most widespread interpretation of Hegel's theory of punishment is that it is a retributivist theory of annulment, where punishments cancel the performance of ... More

Amongst contemporary theorists, the most widespread interpretation of Hegel's theory of punishment is that it is a retributivist theory of annulment, where punishments cancel the performance of crimes. The theory is retributivist because it holds both that (a) criminals can be punished only if punishment is deserved; and (b) the value of punishment must be proportional to the nature of its corresponding crime, rather than to any consequentialist considerations. This chapter begins with an examination of ‘abstract right’ and the role of punishment in this section of the Philosophy of Right, and then considers how the role of punishment changes later in the Philosophy of Right. It argues that Hegel's later treatment of punishment may endorse different punishments whose function may not always be retributivist, and explores how this view coheres with Hegel's earlier treatment. Thus, the chapter rejects the view both that Hegel's most substantive treatment of punishment is contained in ‘abstract right’ and that his full treatment has only a retributivist function and is not open to additional functions, such as deterrence and rehabilitation.Less

Family

Thom Brooks

in Hegel's Political Philosophy: A Systematic Reading of the Philosophy of Right

This chapter adopts the following approach to interpreting Hegel's views: When we judge the arguments of the Philosophy of Right we are not speaking of Hegel, the person, as a judge we should avoid ... More

This chapter adopts the following approach to interpreting Hegel's views: When we judge the arguments of the Philosophy of Right we are not speaking of Hegel, the person, as a judge we should avoid on an Equal Rights Tribunal. We are in the business of attending carefully to his arguments. It shares the view with most, if not all, contemporary philosophers that the ideal family is not a heterosexual, monogamous, married couple with children, where the wife's roles are limited to homemaker and mother; there is no such thing as ‘an ideal family’. The chapter attempts to merely set straight Hegel's arguments in favour of the family and the particular form this family takes, arguing that the substance of Hegel's arguments only make sense if we take seriously the rationalist dialectical structure which informs the whole of the Philosophy of Right. The view of the family we find may be familiar, but the author's account is able to best make sense of Hegel's arguments, and provides a more robust understanding of Hegel's views on the family that improves upon and corrects previous accounts.Less

Hegel, Marx, and the Novelization of Tragedy

Richard Halpern

in Eclipse of Action: Tragedy and Political Economy

Tragic drama is eclipsed by the novel in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries before returning in a form that has itself become partially novelized. Contemporaneous philosophical treatments of ... More

Tragic drama is eclipsed by the novel in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries before returning in a form that has itself become partially novelized. Contemporaneous philosophical treatments of these developments reveal their imbrication with a market economy. This chapter reads Hegel’s treatment of tragedy in his Lectures on Aesthetics against his depiction of civil society in the Philosophy of Right, a work deeply influenced by Hegel’s readings in political economy. Economic thought influences Hegel’s treatment of tragedy, and particularly its metamorphosis into tragicomedy—a highly novelized form. The chapter then turns to Marx’s The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte, a work that employs the categories of tragedy and farce to analyze the revolution of 1848 in France. Marx’s handling of these literary genres evinces a Hegelian influence, and his depiction of class struggle in France likewise reworks Hegel’s treatment of the Pöbel or rabble, the irreducibly tragic remainder of capitalism’s “system of needs” in the Philosophy of Right. Against Marx’s plot of crisply defined dramatic genres and a clear-cut historical dialectic, the “becoming-rabble” of both creates a counterplot in which tragedy cedes to novel, and imminent revolutionary triumph gives way to a seemingly interminable capitalist modernity.Less

Freedom and Subjectivity in Modern Society: Re-reading Hegel's Philosophy of Right

Robert Fine and Rolando Vázquez

in Law and Sociology

This chapter provides an explanation of Hegel's Philosophy of Right, a founding text for the social theory of law. It examines the contrast between Hegel's recognition of subjective freedom as the ... More

This chapter provides an explanation of Hegel's Philosophy of Right, a founding text for the social theory of law. It examines the contrast between Hegel's recognition of subjective freedom as the great accomplishment of modern society and his critique of subjectivism as its foremost pathology. It is proposed that the historical relation between subjective freedom and subjectivism lies at the heart of Hegel's analysis of modern forms of ‘right’. Hegel discovers personality as the determinate social form of the individual in modern capitalist society. His argument is that the absence of distinction between ‘morality’ and ‘ethical life’ — an absence he found in Kant's political philosophy — is a problem in terms of understanding the modern age. Moreover, in his observations on the association between subjective freedom and ethical life, Hegel shows the significance of civil society. Discussion on social theory and the Philosophy of Right is offered as well.Less

An Introduction to the Problem of Surplus Repressive Punishment

Wes Furlotte

in The Problem of Nature in Hegel's Final System

Opening Part III, chapter nine begins historically. It situates Hegel’s political writings in relation to Hobbes, Rousseau, Kant, and to a lesser degree Fichte. Paying careful attention to the ... More

Opening Part III, chapter nine begins historically. It situates Hegel’s political writings in relation to Hobbes, Rousseau, Kant, and to a lesser degree Fichte. Paying careful attention to the Philosophy of Right’s full title, and its introduction, while also acknowledging both “metaphysical” and “non-metaphysical” readings of Hegel’s political philosophy, the chapter gestures towards Hegel’s account of “Abstract Right”, specifically the category of personhood, as a fertile point of departure for pursuing the problem of nature from within Hegel’s political philosophy.Less

In What Sense is Hegel’s Philosophy of Right “Based” on His Science of Logic?: Remarks on the Logic of Justice

Robert B. Pippin

in Hegel's Political Philosophy: On the Normative Significance of Method and System

Hegel famously says in the “Preface” to The Philosophy of Right that that outline or Grundriss presupposes “the speculative mode of cognition.” This is to be contrasted with what he calls “the old ... More

Hegel famously says in the “Preface” to The Philosophy of Right that that outline or Grundriss presupposes “the speculative mode of cognition.” This is to be contrasted with what he calls “the old logic” and “the knowledge of the understanding” (Verstandeserkenntnis), a term he also uses to characterize all of metaphysics prior to his own. He makes explicit that he is referring to his book, The Science of Logic, but he does not explain the nature of this dependence anywhere in the book. This chapter attempts to explain the nature of this dependence, and to show that it is indeed crucial to understanding the argument of the work.Less

Introduction: Hegel's Crises

in Hegel's Laws: The Legitimacy of a Modern Legal Order

This introductory chapter begins with a discussion of Hegel's legal philosophy. It then presents the story of his life, covering his education, the influence of his university friends, his career, ... More

This introductory chapter begins with a discussion of Hegel's legal philosophy. It then presents the story of his life, covering his education, the influence of his university friends, his career, and the impact of the Enlightenment on his work. Next, it explores Hegel's mature legal philosophy by turning to the famous Preface of Philosophy of Right. An overview of the subsequent chapters is also presented.Less

Hegel Made Visible

Anthony Quinton

in Of Men and Manners: Essays Historical and Philosophical

This chapter discusses the life and works of Hegel. Hegel was born in 1770 in the city of Stuttgart, capital of Württemberg, a Protestant enclave in generally Catholic southern Germany. He went to ... More

This chapter discusses the life and works of Hegel. Hegel was born in 1770 in the city of Stuttgart, capital of Württemberg, a Protestant enclave in generally Catholic southern Germany. He went to school at the local, classically oriented Gymnasium and not the more socially elevated, almost business school-like Karlsschule, in accordance with his father's intention that he should become a Protestant clergyman. In 1816, at the age of forty-six, Hegel finally secured a chair, at Heidelberg. A year later he brought out the summary of his whole system, his Encyclopedia of the Philosophical Sciences, and in 1818 achieved his ideal job, a chair at the University of Berlin, founded by Alexander von Humboldt in 1809 to be a centre of Bildung and for the spiritual reconstruction of Germany after its catastrophic disruption by Napoleon. Two years later Hegel published his Philosophy of Right, which is probably the most widely read of his works today.Less