I woke up this morning with a hangover, and decided to continue reading my book on the philosopher, Hegel (August 27, 1770 – November 14, 1831)
Hegel definitely put together a voluminous master system. And of course, there is danger behind such attempts at being all-encompassing. Marx picked up and used his philosophy.
Hegel was a German philosopher in the tradition of Idealism. The mind is the only reality. It's opposite would be materialism, matter is the only reality. I don't quite understand how Marxism involves materialism when Hegel is an idealist.
I am generally against anything that further divorces the unity of mind and body, even against dualism. Hegel is definitely of value and interesting, however, and probably serves to counterbalance materialism.
My favorite parts are from the Phenomenology of mind (or spirit depending on translation). There are references to the "universal mind," reminiscent of the lyrics of the doors song, which makes me think Morrison read Hegel. During Hegel's journey tracing the history of consciousness, he finds that individual minds must realize they are part of the universal mind, and are not free insofar as they are dominated by desire and other coercion. This was reminiscent of William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) and the doors of perception. "When the doors of perception are cleansed, man will see things as they truly are, infinite. For man has closed himself up, till he sees all things through narrow chinks of his cavern."
My reading and commenting on Hegel is not to say that I am particularly aligned with his beliefs or ideas. In fact, the only reason I am even reading Hegel is to understand Kierkegaard's frequent references to him.
One potentially positive product of Hegel's thought would be the idea that people, or at least minds, are intimately connected. Which reminds me of Heidegger's being-with-others, and would seem to lead to corollaries with modern new age ideas of intention and visualization. But far from being mystical, Hegel is touting the virtues of reason.
On an interesting and related note, through watching Ken Burn's PBS special on the Brooklyn Bridge (completed in 1883 can you believe it?) I learned that Roebling, the German born designer of the bridge, "...studied under famous German philosopher George Hegel. Roebling became Hegel's protege, and completed a 2000 page treatise on his concept of the universe."
quote from Wikipedia entry on John Roebling.
Hegel definitely put together a voluminous master system. And of course, there is danger behind such attempts at being all-encompassing. Marx picked up and used his philosophy.
Hegel was a German philosopher in the tradition of Idealism. The mind is the only reality. It's opposite would be materialism, matter is the only reality. I don't quite understand how Marxism involves materialism when Hegel is an idealist.
I am generally against anything that further divorces the unity of mind and body, even against dualism. Hegel is definitely of value and interesting, however, and probably serves to counterbalance materialism.
My favorite parts are from the Phenomenology of mind (or spirit depending on translation). There are references to the "universal mind," reminiscent of the lyrics of the doors song, which makes me think Morrison read Hegel. During Hegel's journey tracing the history of consciousness, he finds that individual minds must realize they are part of the universal mind, and are not free insofar as they are dominated by desire and other coercion. This was reminiscent of William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) and the doors of perception. "When the doors of perception are cleansed, man will see things as they truly are, infinite. For man has closed himself up, till he sees all things through narrow chinks of his cavern."
My reading and commenting on Hegel is not to say that I am particularly aligned with his beliefs or ideas. In fact, the only reason I am even reading Hegel is to understand Kierkegaard's frequent references to him.
One potentially positive product of Hegel's thought would be the idea that people, or at least minds, are intimately connected. Which reminds me of Heidegger's being-with-others, and would seem to lead to corollaries with modern new age ideas of intention and visualization. But far from being mystical, Hegel is touting the virtues of reason.
On an interesting and related note, through watching Ken Burn's PBS special on the Brooklyn Bridge (completed in 1883 can you believe it?) I learned that Roebling, the German born designer of the bridge, "...studied under famous German philosopher George Hegel. Roebling became Hegel's protege, and completed a 2000 page treatise on his concept of the universe."
quote from Wikipedia entry on John Roebling.
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