Hegel

By: Vamshi Gujju

Early Life• Born in 1770 in Stuttgart, Germany, as the son of

an official• Studied theology in the Tüberger Stift• Became friends with Friedrich von Schelling and

Friedrich Hölderlin, two men who would become influential figures. This friendship would influence Hegel’s work

• Worked as a tutor while he wrote some unpublished essays on religion

Professional Life• After his father died in 1801, Hegel went to work

as a lecturer at the University of Jena• He wanted to become a modernizing philosopher,

like those in the Enlightenment• However as he studied with his friends

Hölderlin and Schelling and became exposed to the writings of Kant, he became more interested in “critical philosophy” (the job of philosophy is to to criticize, and this is a prerequisite to knowledge)

• He remained a professor in various places until he died of cholera in 1831

Hegel’s Main Works

•Phenomenology of Spirit• Science of Logic•Philosophy of Right

Hegel’s Philosophy at a Glance(At Least What I Understood)

Hegel creates a distinction between two consciousness's, the self, and the otherness. Self is self-consciousness, the state of being fully free and independent. The otherness is the barrier to this goal. All human activity is defined around the relationship as these two consciousness’s. History is simply a result of the conflict between these two forces, described by the relation between lord and bondsman. The otherness cannot be destroyed without destroying oneself, so the ultimate goal of this conflict is to achieve reconciliation between self and otherness.

Impact on the World

• Hegelianism has been revived multiple times through history, such as in the late nineteenth century, the beginning and end of the twentieth century

• Hegelianism influenced other philosophical movements, like existentialism and Marxism

• Hegel also influenced other thinkers around the world, such as Jean-Paul Sartre of France, and Georg Lukács of Hungary