Part one of this series can be found here.

When it comes to understanding history, according to Hegel, the goal of the philosopher of history is to discover the progress and development of reason as an immaterial and spiritual force which simply uses human events to achieve its goals and purposes (116). For example, Hegel explains how mind is revealed in world history, “The history of the world begins with its general aim, the realization of the idea of spirit, only in an implicit form, that is, as nature; a hidden, most profoundly hidden, unconscious instinct; and the whole process of history (as already observed) is directed to rendering this unconscious impulse a conscious one” (171). According to Hegel, the role of the philosopher is to show how mind or reason is at work in the world. Hegel continues:

The only thought which philosophy brings with it to the contemplation of history, is the simple conception of reason; that reason is the sovereign of the world; that the history of the world, therefore, presents us with a rational process. This conviction and intuition is a hypothesis in the domain of history as such. In that of philosophy it is no hypothesis. It is there proved by speculative cognition, that reason—and this term may here suffice us, without investigating the relation sustained by the universe to the divine being—is substance, as well as infinite power; its own infinite material underlying all the natural and spiritual life which it originates, as also the infinite form—that which sets this material in motion. (163)

Hegel believes that reason (or the world-mind) is an infinite power and material form, a type of first principle of reality, not a hypothesis. Additionally, he explains that reason is the substance and infinite energy, “that by which and in which all reality has its being and subsistence … That this “idea” or “reason” is the true, the eternal, the absolutely powerful essence; that it reveals itself in the world, and that in that world nothing else is revealed but this and its honour and glory—is the thesis which as we have said, has been proved in philosophy, and is here regarded as demonstrated” (163).

In sum, reason is “the infinite complex of things, their entire essence and truth (163). For Hegel, the universe is one organic whole, an all-powerful and continuous substance of mind or spirit.

Overall, Hegel makes a compelling case for presenting reality and the universe as a complete whole. Each person, object, and event has a position and role in the grand narrative and unfolding of the world-mind. People and events have value because they belong to a greater cosmic plan and through reflection and their innate ability to reason, can discover the grand narrative and design of the world-spirit at work in the universe (116). People and events are the outworking of the world-spirit. In terms of Hegelian idealism, the human race is imbued with meaning and purpose and not a product of chance or blind impersonal mechanistic forces, because the universe is an entire logical system working itself out to greater perfection, significance, and importance due to the all benevolent world-mind or Idea. Individuals can find comfort, solace, and be “at home” in the universe because the self is not isolated or insignificant but a genuine part of the world process. In many ways, Hegel’s idealism is deeply existentially meaningful. In this system, values, ethical principles, and determinations of right or wrong are not transcendent, obscure, or impossible to reach, but are inherently discoverable because all knowledge and value lies within the universe and within every single individual. There is no transcendent reality to concern oneself with. The self is not adrift alone in the cosmos, but anchored firmly within the comfort and purpose of the world-spirit.

While Hegel’s grand quest for the meaning of reality is a noble one (and worth pursuing), it remains to be seen whether or not his foundational notion of reality is correct. If it turns out that his first principles of reality are incorrect, his overall system fails. As Thomas Hobbes reminds us, “Where men build on false grounds, the more they build, the greater is the ruin” (132). It is important, therefore, to evaluate Hegel’s philosophical system in light of his basic premises and conclusions. If the premises are faulty, the conclusion will be too. Therefore, Hegel’s metaphysical system should be evaluated in the context of other great thinkers of the Western intellectual tradition in order to discover whether or not his foundation is firm. Plato, Aristotle, and Aquinas can help bring further clarification to the nature of existence, the plurality of existence, and the role of “mind” in understanding the world.

One interesting point about Hegel’s idealism is that he conflates the existence of mental realities such as ideas and objectively physical ways of knowing reality (123). The external conditions of reality should become internal ones (231). According the Hegel, in order to have complete self-consciousness one must collapse the distinctions between what one knows objectively with what one knows by way of the mind, “Two things must be distinguished in consciousness; first, the fact that I know; secondly what I know. In self-conscious these are merged in one; for spirit knows itself” (167). The world-mind, which, according to Hegel incorporates everyone and everything must be merged into one ultimate entity. That which I know (ideas of things) gets merged into that by which I know (sense experience and objective reality).

This is the basis of the Hegel’s metaphysical monism. Next time, we will look at how Aristotle and other great thinkers would respond to Hegelian idealism.

Works cited in this series

Aristotle. Metaphysics. Translated by W. D. Ross. The Great Books of the Western World, edited by Mortimer J. Adler et al., Vol. 7. Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 1996.

Aquinas. The Suma Theologica. Translated by Father Laurence Shapcote. The Great Books of the Western World, edited by Mortimer J. Adler et al., Vol. 17. Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 1996.

Hegel, Georg. Philosophy of Right. Translated by T. M. Knox. The Great Books of the Western World, edited by Mortimer J. Adler et al., Vol. 43. Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 1996.

— Philosophy of History. Translated by J. Sibree. The Great Books of the Western World, edited by Mortimer J. Adler et al., Vol. 43. Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 1996.

Hobbes, Thomas. Leviathan. The Great Books of the Western World, edited by Mortimer J. Adler et al., Vol. 21. Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 1996.

Plato. Georgias. Translated by Benjamin Jowett. The Great Books of the Western World, edited by Mortimer J. Adler et al., Vol. 6. Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 1996.