September 3, 2025 • 15 mins
Dive into Hegels enlightening lectures on the philosophy of world history, crafted to ease students into his complex ideas. Hegels engaging discourse sheds light on accessible themes like world events while he intricately defines and explores the concept of Geist, or spirit. This notion reflects the evolving culture of humanity, continuously adapting to societal changes while simultaneously driving those transformations through what Hegel termed the cunning of reason. A significant focus of the text is on world history rather than confined regional narratives. Influenced by the enigmatic writings of Jakob Bhme and captivated by the thoughts of Spinoza, Kant, Rousseau, and Goethe, Hegel examined the contradictions of modern philosophy and society. He sought to interpret these tensions‚like those between knowledge and faith, freedom and authority‚as part of a comprehensive, evolving rational unity he called the absolute idea or absolute knowledge. This unity emerges through contradiction and negation, leading to an uplifting resolution that preserves these conflicts as integral phases of development. Ultimately, Hegel posits that this rational, self-conscious whole is realized through individual minds, culminating in a collective understanding of this intricate developmental process. (summary by Wikipedia and D.E. Wittkower)
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
The Essential Destiny of Reason sub Section one. This is
a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.
For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org.
Introduction to the Philosophy of History by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel.
(00:29):
The Essential Destiny of Reason. The inquiry into the essential
destiny of reason, as far as it is considered in
reference to the world, is identical with the question what
is the ultimate design of the world? And the expression
(00:54):
implies that that design is destined to be realized to
points of consideration suggest themselves, first the import of this design,
its abstract definition, and secondly its realization. It must be
(01:15):
observed at the outset that the phenomenon we investigate universal
history belongs to the realm of spirit. The term world
includes both physical and psychical nature. Physical nature also plays
its part in the world's history, and attention will have
(01:36):
to be paid to the fundamental natural relations thus involved.
But Spirit and the course of its development is our
substantial object. Our task does not require us to contemplate
nature as a rational system in itself, though in its
own proper domain it proves itself such. But simply in
(02:00):
its relation to Spirit on the stage on which we
are observing it universal history, Spirit displays itself in its
most concrete reality. Notwithstanding this, or rather, for the very
purpose of comprehending the general principles which this its form
of concrete reality, embodies, we must premise some abstract characteristics
(02:27):
of the nature of Spirit. Such an explanation, however, cannot
be given here under any other form than that of
bare assertion. The present is not the occasion for unfolding
the idea of Spirit speculatively, For whatever has a place
in an introduction must, as already observed, be taken as
(02:51):
simply historical, something assumed as having been explained and proved elsewhere,
or whose demonstration away the sequel of the science of
history itself. We have therefore to mention here first the
abstract characteristics of the nature of Spirit, second what means
(03:17):
Spirit uses in order to realize its idea, And third, lastly,
we must consider the shape which the perfect embodiment of
Spirit assumes the state. First, the nature of Spirit may
(03:40):
be understood by a glance at its direct opposite matter,
as the essence of matter is gravity. So on the
other hand, we may affirm that the substance the essence
of spirit is freedom, all will readily assent to the
doctrine that spirit, among other properties, is also endowed with freedom.
(04:06):
But philosophy teaches that all the qualities of spirit exist
only through freedom, that all are but means for attaining freedom,
that all seek and produce this and this alone. It
is a result of speculative philosophy that freedom is the
sole truth of spirit. Matter possesses gravity in virtue of
(04:31):
its tendency towards a central point. It is essentially composite,
consisting of parts that exclude each other. It seeks its
unity and therefore exhibits itself as self destructive, as verging
towards its opposite, an indivisible point. If it could attain this,
(04:53):
it would be matter no longer it would have perished.
It strives after the realized of its idea for a unity.
It exists ideally. Spirit, on the contrary, may be defined
as that which has its center in itself. It has
(05:16):
not a unity outside itself, but has already found it.
It exists in and with itself. Matter has its essence
out of itself. Spirit is self contained existence. Now this
is freedom exactly for if I am dependent, my being
(05:42):
is referred to something else which I am not. I
cannot exist independently of something external. I am free. On
the contrary, when my existence depends upon myself. This self
contained existence of spirit is none other than self can consciousness,
consciousness of one's own being. Two things must be distinguished
(06:07):
in consciousness, first the fact that I know. Secondly what
I know in self consciousness, these are merged in one.
For spirit knows itself. It involves an appreciation of its
own nature, as also an energy enabling it to realize itself,
(06:30):
to make itself actually that which it is potentially. According
to this abstract definition, it may be said of universal
history that it is the exhibition of spirit in the
process of working out the knowledge of that which it
is potentially. And as the germ bears in itself the
(06:53):
whole nature of the tree and the taste and form
of its fruits, so do the first traces of spirit
virtually contain the whole of that history. The Orientals have
not attained the knowledge that spirit man as such, is free,
and because they do not know this, they are not free.
(07:17):
They only know that one is free. But on this
very account, the freedom of that one is only caprice, ferocity,
brutal recklessness of passion, or a mildness and tameness of
the desires, which is itself only an accident of nature,
mere caprice. Like the former, that one is therefore only
(07:42):
a despot, not a free man. The consciousness of freedom
first arose among the Greeks, and therefore they were free.
But they and the Romans likewise knew only that some
are free, not man as such. Even Plato and Aristotle
(08:04):
did not know this. The Greeks therefore had slaves, and
their whole life, and the maintenance of their splendid liberty
was implicated with the institution of slavery, a fact moreover,
which made that liberty, on the one hand, only an accidental,
transient and limited growth. On the other hand, constituted it
(08:26):
a rigorous thralldom of our common nature of the human.
The German nations, under the influence of Christianity, were the
first to attain the consciousness that man as man is free,
that it is the freedom of spirit which constitutes its essence.
(08:50):
This consciousness arose first in religion, the inmost region of spirit.
But to introduce the principle into them, the various relations
of the actual world involves a more extensive problem than
its simple implantation, a problem whose solution and application require
(09:12):
a severe and lengthened process of culture. In proof of this,
we may note that slavery did not cease immediately on
the reception of Christianity. Still less did liberty predominate in
states where governments and constitutions adopt a rational organization or
(09:34):
recognize freedom as their basis. That application of the principle
to political relations, the thorough molding and interpenetration of the
constitution of society by it is a process identical with
history itself. I have already directed attention to the distinction
(09:55):
here involved between a principle as such and its application,
that is, its introduction and carrying out in the actual
phenomena of spirit and life. This is a point of
fundamental importance in our science, and one which must be
constantly respected as essential. And in the same way as
(10:20):
this distinction has attracted attention in view of the Christian
principle of self consciousness freedom, it also shows itself as
an essential one in view of the principle of freedom. Generally,
the history of the world is none other than the
progress of the consciousness of freedom, a progress whose development
(10:41):
according to the necessity of its nature. It is our
business to investigate the general statement given above of the
various grades and the consciousness of freedom, and which we applied,
in the first instance to the fact that the Eastern
nations knew only that one is free, the Greek and
(11:01):
Roman world only that some are free, whilst we know
that all men, absolutely man as man are free. Supplies
us with the natural division of universal history, and suggests
the mode of its discussion. This is remarked, however, only
(11:23):
incidentally and anticipatively. Some other ideas must be first explained.
The destiny of the spiritual world, And since this is
the substantial world, while the physical remains subordinate to it, or,
in the language of speculation, has no truth as against
(11:46):
the spiritual, the final cause of the world at large
we allege to be the consciousness of its own freedom
on the part of spirit, and ipso facto the reality
of that freedom. But that this term freedom without further qualification,
(12:07):
is an indefinite and incalculable, ambiguous term, and that while
that which it represents is the naplos ultra of attainment,
it is liable to an infinity of misunderstandings, confusions, and errors,
and to become the occasion for all imaginable excesses. Has
(12:31):
never been more clearly known and felt than in modern times.
Yet for the present we must content ourselves with the
term itself without further definition. Attention was also directed to
the importance of the infinite difference between a principle in
(12:52):
the abstract and its realization in the concrete. In the
process before us, the essential nature of freedom, which involves
in it absolute necessity, is to be displayed as coming
to a consciousness of itself, For it is in its
(13:13):
very nature self consciousness, and thereby realizing its existence itself
is its own object of attainment and the sole aim
of spirit. This result, it is at which the process
of the world's history has been continually aiming, and to
(13:37):
which the sacrifices that have ever and anon been laid
on the vast altar of the earth through the long
lapse of ages have been offered. This is the only
aim that sees itself realized and fulfilled, the only pole
of repose amid the ceaseless change of events and conditions,
(14:02):
and the sole efficient principle that pervades them This final
aim is God's purpose with the world. But God is
the absolutely perfect being and can therefore will nothing other
than himself his own will. The nature of his will,
(14:24):
that is his nature itself, is what we here call
the idea of freedom, translating the language of religion into
that of thought. The question, then, which we may next put,
is what means does this principle of freedom use for
(14:45):
its realization. This is the second point we have to consider,
and the essential destiny of reason subsequaltion one the abstract
characteristics of the nature of spirit. This recording is in
(15:07):
the public domain.
The Essential Destiny of Reason sub Section one. This is
a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain.
For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org.
Introduction to the Philosophy of History by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel.
(00:29):
The Essential Destiny of Reason. The inquiry into the essential
destiny of reason, as far as it is considered in
reference to the world, is identical with the question what
is the ultimate design of the world? And the expression
(00:54):
implies that that design is destined to be realized to
points of consideration suggest themselves, first the import of this design,
its abstract definition, and secondly its realization. It must be
(01:15):
observed at the outset that the phenomenon we investigate universal
history belongs to the realm of spirit. The term world
includes both physical and psychical nature. Physical nature also plays
its part in the world's history, and attention will have
(01:36):
to be paid to the fundamental natural relations thus involved.
But Spirit and the course of its development is our
substantial object. Our task does not require us to contemplate
nature as a rational system in itself, though in its
own proper domain it proves itself such. But simply in
(02:00):
its relation to Spirit on the stage on which we
are observing it universal history, Spirit displays itself in its
most concrete reality. Notwithstanding this, or rather, for the very
purpose of comprehending the general principles which this its form
of concrete reality, embodies, we must premise some abstract characteristics
(02:27):
of the nature of Spirit. Such an explanation, however, cannot
be given here under any other form than that of
bare assertion. The present is not the occasion for unfolding
the idea of Spirit speculatively, For whatever has a place
in an introduction must, as already observed, be taken as
(02:51):
simply historical, something assumed as having been explained and proved elsewhere,
or whose demonstration away the sequel of the science of
history itself. We have therefore to mention here first the
abstract characteristics of the nature of Spirit, second what means
(03:17):
Spirit uses in order to realize its idea, And third, lastly,
we must consider the shape which the perfect embodiment of
Spirit assumes the state. First, the nature of Spirit may
(03:40):
be understood by a glance at its direct opposite matter,
as the essence of matter is gravity. So on the
other hand, we may affirm that the substance the essence
of spirit is freedom, all will readily assent to the
doctrine that spirit, among other properties, is also endowed with freedom.
(04:06):
But philosophy teaches that all the qualities of spirit exist
only through freedom, that all are but means for attaining freedom,
that all seek and produce this and this alone. It
is a result of speculative philosophy that freedom is the
sole truth of spirit. Matter possesses gravity in virtue of
(04:31):
its tendency towards a central point. It is essentially composite,
consisting of parts that exclude each other. It seeks its
unity and therefore exhibits itself as self destructive, as verging
towards its opposite, an indivisible point. If it could attain this,
(04:53):
it would be matter no longer it would have perished.
It strives after the realized of its idea for a unity.
It exists ideally. Spirit, on the contrary, may be defined
as that which has its center in itself. It has
(05:16):
not a unity outside itself, but has already found it.
It exists in and with itself. Matter has its essence
out of itself. Spirit is self contained existence. Now this
is freedom exactly for if I am dependent, my being
(05:42):
is referred to something else which I am not. I
cannot exist independently of something external. I am free. On
the contrary, when my existence depends upon myself. This self
contained existence of spirit is none other than self can consciousness,
consciousness of one's own being. Two things must be distinguished
(06:07):
in consciousness, first the fact that I know. Secondly what
I know in self consciousness, these are merged in one.
For spirit knows itself. It involves an appreciation of its
own nature, as also an energy enabling it to realize itself,
(06:30):
to make itself actually that which it is potentially. According
to this abstract definition, it may be said of universal
history that it is the exhibition of spirit in the
process of working out the knowledge of that which it
is potentially. And as the germ bears in itself the
(06:53):
whole nature of the tree and the taste and form
of its fruits, so do the first traces of spirit
virtually contain the whole of that history. The Orientals have
not attained the knowledge that spirit man as such, is free,
and because they do not know this, they are not free.
(07:17):
They only know that one is free. But on this
very account, the freedom of that one is only caprice, ferocity,
brutal recklessness of passion, or a mildness and tameness of
the desires, which is itself only an accident of nature,
mere caprice. Like the former, that one is therefore only
(07:42):
a despot, not a free man. The consciousness of freedom
first arose among the Greeks, and therefore they were free.
But they and the Romans likewise knew only that some
are free, not man as such. Even Plato and Aristotle
(08:04):
did not know this. The Greeks therefore had slaves, and
their whole life, and the maintenance of their splendid liberty
was implicated with the institution of slavery, a fact moreover,
which made that liberty, on the one hand, only an accidental,
transient and limited growth. On the other hand, constituted it
(08:26):
a rigorous thralldom of our common nature of the human.
The German nations, under the influence of Christianity, were the
first to attain the consciousness that man as man is free,
that it is the freedom of spirit which constitutes its essence.
(08:50):
This consciousness arose first in religion, the inmost region of spirit.
But to introduce the principle into them, the various relations
of the actual world involves a more extensive problem than
its simple implantation, a problem whose solution and application require
(09:12):
a severe and lengthened process of culture. In proof of this,
we may note that slavery did not cease immediately on
the reception of Christianity. Still less did liberty predominate in
states where governments and constitutions adopt a rational organization or
(09:34):
recognize freedom as their basis. That application of the principle
to political relations, the thorough molding and interpenetration of the
constitution of society by it is a process identical with
history itself. I have already directed attention to the distinction
(09:55):
here involved between a principle as such and its application,
that is, its introduction and carrying out in the actual
phenomena of spirit and life. This is a point of
fundamental importance in our science, and one which must be
constantly respected as essential. And in the same way as
(10:20):
this distinction has attracted attention in view of the Christian
principle of self consciousness freedom, it also shows itself as
an essential one in view of the principle of freedom. Generally,
the history of the world is none other than the
progress of the consciousness of freedom, a progress whose development
(10:41):
according to the necessity of its nature. It is our
business to investigate the general statement given above of the
various grades and the consciousness of freedom, and which we applied,
in the first instance to the fact that the Eastern
nations knew only that one is free, the Greek and
(11:01):
Roman world only that some are free, whilst we know
that all men, absolutely man as man are free. Supplies
us with the natural division of universal history, and suggests
the mode of its discussion. This is remarked, however, only
(11:23):
incidentally and anticipatively. Some other ideas must be first explained.
The destiny of the spiritual world, And since this is
the substantial world, while the physical remains subordinate to it, or,
in the language of speculation, has no truth as against
(11:46):
the spiritual, the final cause of the world at large
we allege to be the consciousness of its own freedom
on the part of spirit, and ipso facto the reality
of that freedom. But that this term freedom without further qualification,
(12:07):
is an indefinite and incalculable, ambiguous term, and that while
that which it represents is the naplos ultra of attainment,
it is liable to an infinity of misunderstandings, confusions, and errors,
and to become the occasion for all imaginable excesses. Has
(12:31):
never been more clearly known and felt than in modern times.
Yet for the present we must content ourselves with the
term itself without further definition. Attention was also directed to
the importance of the infinite difference between a principle in
(12:52):
the abstract and its realization in the concrete. In the
process before us, the essential nature of freedom, which involves
in it absolute necessity, is to be displayed as coming
to a consciousness of itself, For it is in its
(13:13):
very nature self consciousness, and thereby realizing its existence itself
is its own object of attainment and the sole aim
of spirit. This result, it is at which the process
of the world's history has been continually aiming, and to
(13:37):
which the sacrifices that have ever and anon been laid
on the vast altar of the earth through the long
lapse of ages have been offered. This is the only
aim that sees itself realized and fulfilled, the only pole
of repose amid the ceaseless change of events and conditions,
(14:02):
and the sole efficient principle that pervades them This final
aim is God's purpose with the world. But God is
the absolutely perfect being and can therefore will nothing other
than himself his own will. The nature of his will,
(14:24):
that is his nature itself, is what we here call
the idea of freedom, translating the language of religion into
that of thought. The question, then, which we may next put,
is what means does this principle of freedom use for
(14:45):
its realization. This is the second point we have to consider,
and the essential destiny of reason subsequaltion one the abstract
characteristics of the nature of spirit. This recording is in
(15:07):
the public domain.
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