Phenomenology of Spirit

Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and thinker in the 4th century BCE whose work continues to influence modern science, philosophy, art, and politics. Born in Macedonia, Aristotle was raised by his older sister and moved to Athens to study at the Academy. Aristotle developed his reputation while learning from his teacher and mentor Plato. He fled Greece in 323 BCE during a rise of anti-Macedonian violence.

Aristotle’s texts, including Politics and Nicomachean Ethics, explore the significance of a virtuous life and its role in happiness and purpose for the individual. Rather than focusing on extremes like his predecessors, Aristotle believed that both politics and ethics became more stable when they drew from multiple sources. For example, in Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle describes virtues as means between vices. He proposes that a balanced life between extremes is a virtuous life.

This idea is reiterated in Hegel’s work, which presents both consciousness and philosophy as parts of processes of evolution. Instead of focusing on extreme ideas about being or knowledge, Hegel suggested that it was better to pull from the canon of philosophical thought and to see human understanding as something that builds over time. For example, Hegel believed that philosophy grew closer to absolute knowing with the contribution of new ideas and cognition. When Hegel attended the seminary, he held a deep appreciation for classical philosophy, including the writing of Aristotle. He references Aristotle’s ideas in Phenomenology of Spirit and builds upon them, including the connections between collective society, consciousness, and morality.

Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) was a German philosopher and important figure in the Enlightenment. Kant covered a wide array of fields, including ethics, metaphysics, ontology, and epistemology. Kant was raised in a devout Lutheran family where he learned the importance of living virtuously. As an adult, the philosopher lived a strict life, and his religious views pervaded his work.

In Critique of Pure Reason (1781), considered Kant’s most influential text, Kant challenges the knowability of the external world through a human lens. In this text, Kant introduces transcendental idealism, which suggests that knowledge is formed through the interaction of cognition, intuition, and sensory experience.

Hegel was greatly influenced by Kant, although his ideas differed from his predecessor in significant ways. Kant proposes that humans have a priori knowledge in the form of intuition. Hegel diverges from this thinking by arguing that what is perceived as intuition is the result of personal experience. Hegel and Kant align in their emphasis on experience, both explaining that humans are limited in their knowledge because they cannot encounter the world outside of their individualized perspectives. Both philosophers view morality as an outcome of reason.

Johann Gottlieb Fichte (1762-1814) was a German philosopher and important figure in the German Idealist movement. Fichte studied at the University of Jena’s Lutheran seminary and finished his education at Leipzig University. After studying the works of Immanuel Kant, he wrote an essay called Attempt at a Critique of All Revelation (1792). This text drew the attention of Kant, who publicly praised Fichte, securing Fichte’s reputation. Fichte’s contributions to German idealism and German nationalism have been largely ignored but are seeing a resurgence in interest in recent years. Fichte was a prolific writer. His works included Foundations of the Entire Science of Knowledge, The Vocation of Man, and On the Nature of the Scholar.

Fichte built upon Kant’s work with his philosophy of subjective idealism. Like Kant, he argued that the reality of the external world was unknowable. However, he took an egocentric view of consciousness and knowledge. Fichte proposed that self-consciousness is reality, and the external world is a projection of the self. As Hegel studied Kant, he read and considered the philosophies of Fichte and Schelling, ultimately deciding to explore the relationships of reason, consciousness, and social context. Fichte is responsible for developing the triadic form of thesis, antithesis, and synthesis explored by Hegel and often attributed to him.

John Locke (1632-1704) was an English philosopher and central figure of the Enlightenment. Locke developed theories in science, medicine, empiricism, and epistemology. Considered to be the father of liberalism, John Locke’s writing continues to influence modern thinkers and writers. In An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, Locke explored the origin of knowledge. He rejected earlier concepts of knowledge as innate and divinely inspired and argued that the mind is a blank slate, or tabula rasa, at birth.

For Locke, knowledge was the result of experience. While Locke’s emphasis on experience resembles phenomenology, Hegel’s idealist approach differs from Locke’s empirical philosophy. Hegel focused on the unknowability of the external world and the merging of the external with the internal. Locke developed a view of cognition as comprehensive and pure, while Hegel argued that consciousness develops over time and human cognition is limited by individual perspective.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1788) was a Swiss philosopher, novelist, and composer. Rousseau wrote on a wide range of topics, including knowledge, politics, education, and aesthetics. Rousseau’s work on liberal democracy is often credited as serving as a catalyst for the French Revolution.

Rousseau lived a challenging life. He was frequently attacked by the French government for his radical views, suffered from urinary tract retention, and had a troubled marriage. However, he was surrounded by wealthy friends and wrote many influential works, including Discourse on the Sciences and Arts (1750), The Social Contract (1762), and Émile (1762).

While at university, Hegel and his friends immersed themselves in the writing of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and recognized the connection between Rousseau’s political writing and the French Revolution. Rousseau saw the development of agrarian society and civilization as the downfall of the human species. This idea contrasts with Hegel’s assertion that elevated consciousness emphasizes the unity of collective society. While Rousseau emphasized individual freedom, Hegel saw autonomy co-existing with social and historical context. Unlike Rousseau, Hegel did not see the state of nature as one of purity and perfect human existence. Instead, Hegel proposed that cultural and human development is a pathway toward self-actualization.