Re-test Topic: Hegel Absolute idealism and Dialectical

method

Abstract
In this paper I’m going to discuss about Hegel Absolute idea which is absolute reality , a coherent
and logical system , all inclusive, and everything is manifestation of this Absolute reality according to
him. And then we discuss how this reality is progressively manifesting itself dialectically in the form
of thesis, antithesis, and synthesis i.e. his dialectical method

Absolute idealism
Hegel was an idealist metaphysician of modern Europe. Hegel has presented a monistic philosophy
according to which reality is absolute . According to Hegel reality is the expression of infinite or
absolute thought or consciousness or reason.

Hegel philosophy is called Absolute idealism. According to Absolute idealism of Hegel there is only
one reality . The reality ( Absolute) for Hegel is neither particular entity nor isolated entity nor a
group of independent particulars ,it is many- in-one or one-in-many. Absolute is like a coherent
system of thought in which each proposition is logically connected with all the rest. This one reality is
an all inclusive and self consistent whole. If there be more than reality then we have to posit some
other supreme reality to unify , combine and harmonize all realities into one. Hegel Absolute idea is
the only reality, this is not something different from the world, it is something systematic
whole ,Hegel call it Organic whole. All living and non living is a part of the absolute (system) in this
sense Idea is a organic unity. This Absolute reality is neither pure identity nor pure difference,
actually identity lies in difference. Everything is the manifestation of this Absolute idea. On the one
hand Everything is related to everything else while on the other hand everything is related with
whole. This whole is dialectic. Absolute idea is organic whole and everything is its part. Real aspect of
this whole is thought or reason. Thought, reason , or consciousness is the highest aspect of reality,
but not Absolute. Every becoming is the becoming of thought, everything is thought realised.

This reality is not static but dynamic. This is a living and developing reality, all the development is
logical development. Hegel assert that every evolution in nature takes place according to the law of
logic. Any manifestation which is superfluous or accidental is not a part of reality. Only that which is
rational in nature is real. Everything in nature is the realisation of thought. Every state of
development preserve the past and predicts the future.

Hegel is a rationalist and believes that there is a Harmony between human reason and world. He
wants to overcome the gap between our concepts and reality. As he puts that “the ultimate aim of
philosophy is to reconcile thought or the concept wuth reality”. According to him things are
manifestation of thought. Things and thought to Hegel, are one and identical.

Real is rational and rational is real anything which is not rational is not real. Rational is real imply his
epistemology i.e. reason can give us knowledge of reality
Real is rational imply his metaphysics i.e. if reality has rational structure then logic of dialectic applies
not only to our concepts but to reality itself.

Dialectical method
Hegel developed dialectical method in logical form. Hegel says that reality is moving and
dialectic(logical) in nature. Therefore we need a method that would be suitable to the nature of
reality. So hegel propounded dialectical method. Principle of contradiction is main concept in
dialectical process. It is the life and blood of dialectical method, but Hegel use contradiction in sense
of being different for e.g. anything which is different from A is contradictory to A. Now according to
Hegel contradiction is the source of all developments. Actually Hegel dialectical method is a triadic
movement. The spirit develops through the steps : Thesis + Antithesis = synthesis. In this what is
remarkable is that contradictory elements are reconciled and substantial elements are transformed.
So contradiction is removed but harmony is preserved. Basically Thesis and Antithesis are sublated in
synthesis.

According to Hegel dialectic method existence is all human inclusive i.e. it contains state of being
asWell as state of not being , everything contains within itself ,its own opposite, for example we
cannotThink about hot without cold, love without hate, finite without infinite, men without
women,Subjective idea without objective idea. Hegel dialectic shows that any Thesis implies its
Antithesis ,And these two are united in higher Synthesis and this can be united with other Antithesis.
SoAbsolute can be passed through a Dialectic of many triads. For example; for proposition A, there is
A negation not-A and within two there is a synthetic unity B , However B has negation not-B and
There is a Synthesis C and so on .... In this way the entire system of thought and reality that is
Absolute is an integrated whole in which each proposition is logically interconnected with rest.

Dialectical method can be illustrated by the way of starting from the simplest category i.e. Being , it is
followed by Non-Being and the Synthesis is becoming. Within a triad there are many triad. The most
exhaustive triad is idea-in-itself , it’s Antithesis is nature(idea-out-of-itself) , the synthesis is Spirit that
is Idea-in-and-for-itself . Further within Nature we find the triad of mechanics(thesis),
physics(Antithesis), and organics(synthesis). In the spirit we get the triad of subjective spirit,
objective spirit and absolute spirit. Hegel says that this absolute spirit becomes fully conscious of
itself in human mind.

In thesis a certain reality appears but in antithesis many contrast reality revealed and so these
positive and negative reality make the absolute through synthesis. For example, if I say ,My name is
Ram,Then it’s negation will be infinite like; My name is not Shyam, My name is not Gaurav, My name
is notShivani .... and so on. This thesis and antithesis about one individual combine one synthetic
unity and . This synthetic unity combine with other individuals synthetic unity( in this case this will be
Antithesis)and now these combine to form another synthetic unity, and now this combine with
another antithesis...this triad will go on....and cover the whole individual of the Earth. And similarly
many Other triad about other subjects about human or plant or animal, or rocks etc. Will also be
created And in this way the whole truth or reality interlinked with each other in a harmonious way .
So these Infinite triads include all things and every thing in the triad is included in their higher triads .
So this Absolute idea is all inclusive

Hegel concept begins with Beings as the Thesis and Non being as Antithesis but being and non-Being
is incomplete so we have to reconciled in a higher concept called Becoming. Similarly Nature Is the
objective self and its Antithesis is conscious self or subjective self. So according to Hegel to Achieve
truth we must not have to view the world from standpoint only from subjective self or Objective self.
We must see subjective reality in relation with objective idea. Basic triad matter, life and mind , mind
is the union of matter and life , and according to hegel mind In inner consciousness represent
subjective spirit and objective spirit which represents the mind in Its external world is Antithesis,
objective spirit is social consciousness. The doctrine of subjective Spirit can be concept of right
concept of morality, concept of social morality. Contract for right is Objective idea.This subjective and
objective spirit synthetic unity form an Absolute idea.

Hegel claims that with the help of dialectics man can understand the world exactly in the same way
as does god. It means we can think God’s thought after him .

Most remarkable about dialectics is that the higher categories contain the lower for e.g. Becoming
contains Being and Non- being. It means that the highest category would contain all the previous
categories and nothing would be lost. But Hegel says that not only higher categories contain the
lower ,but also the lower categories contain the higher. It is possible because higher categories
contain the lower explicitly but lower categories contain higher implicitly. So for Hegel the first
category is also the last, beginning is also the end.

Actually it was unique of Hegel that he maintained that his philosophy was the synthesis of all the
previous philosophies.

Conclusion
Hegel idealism is different from Berkeley idealism, Berkeley refuted matter but Hegel does not refute
matter. After idea matter is the next manifestation of spirit . Hegel accepted all properties of matter
which was accepted by materialist.

In history Hegel has been a very controversial figure. He is accused of having encouraged despotism
and totalitarianism . Russell and Moore have refuted this idealism . For them reality is not one, it is
not a system, they don’t have relation of part and whole. Everything is independent. Reason or
thought is not the most important aspect of reality. Hegel was also accused of having undertaken
only a selective use of history to justify his own thought and position. Thus a single even can be
treated as all that is thesis , Antithesis and the synthesis according to convenience of author. Despite
all these accusations, it is true that the influence of dialectical method on modern philosophy has
been immense which is borne out of the fact that dialectic was the method that was accepted by
Kark Marx.

Submitted to : Prof. Narmada ma’am

Name: Atul chauhan

Roll no: 22210723007

Enrollment no: 19RANCBHPH000003

Dated: January 2nd 2024