The video explores Hegel's theory on world history and the development of spirit, emphasizing that history is a rational and Teleological process. Hegel argues that world history marks the progressive emergence of spirit as freedom, showing how human consciousness and self-awareness evolve over time. This evolution is viewed as a perpetual journey where spirit, or geist, is the principle behind activity and motion, driving things towards a specific end goal of freedom.

The significance of spirit in history is examined. For Hegel, spirit is the merging of subjectivity and objectivity, playing a crucial role in historical advancement. History is seen as the actualization of spirit through human actions, even when those actions are driven by personal passions and desires. Highlighting his concept of the "cunning of reason," Hegel suggests that human actions contribute to this development, sometimes unknowingly aligning with the objectives of spirit and progress.

Main takeaways from the video:

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Key Vocabularies and Common Phrases:

1. Teleological [ˌtɛlɪəˈlɒdʒɪkəl] - (adj.) - Relating to the explanation of phenomena in terms of the purpose they serve rather than of the cause by which they arise.

For Hegel, history is Teleological.

2. Spirit [ˈspɪrɪt] - (n.) - In Hegel's philosophy, the driving force behind history, representing consciousness coming to know itself.

Spirit, or geist in German, is the engine of history.

3. Synthesis [ˈsɪnθəsɪs] - (n.) - The combination of ideas to form a theory or system.

The idea for Hegel is the Synthesis of subjectivity and objectivity.

4. Flux [flʌks] - (n.) - Continuous change or movement.

Hegel's trying to get through his notion of spirit at the insight that the world is always in Flux.

5. Imminent [ˈɪmənənt] - (adj.) - Existing or operating within; inherent.

It is actually Imminent within human history.

6. Antithesis [ænˈtɪθəsɪs] - (n.) - A contrast or opposition between two things.

But its antithesis is passion.

7. Cunning of Reason [ˈkʌnɪŋ] - (phrase) - The idea that reason uses human passions to achieve its own ends unconsciously.

It provides a sort of driving force in what Hegel calls the cunning of reason.

8. Actualize [ˈæktʃuəˌlaɪz] - (v.) - To make a reality, or to make actual.

Spirit is actualizing itself in concrete events throughout history.

9. Sittleschkeit [ˈzɪtlɛʃkaɪt] - (n.) - A German term used by Hegel to denote Ethical life, customs, moral actions, and norms.

It actually just means our norms, our ways of living, our customs, right?

10. Volksgeist [ˈfɔːksˌɡaɪst] - (n.) - The spirit of a people as conceptualized by Hegel.

Which is the volksgeist or the spirit of a people?

Hegel's Philosophy of Spirit and World History Unveiled

Today we're talking about Hegel's theory of world history and the development of spirit within it. For Hegel, reason rules the world. Therefore, world history is a rational process. World history, for Hegel, is the gradual emergence of spirit in the world as freedom. As such, world history tracks the increasing freedom and self consciousness of human beings. In other words, world history is the unfolding of spirit in time.

So what is spirit? Well, spirit, or geist in German, is the engine of history. It's a sort of principle of activity and motion, or as Hegel calls it, self consciousness coming to know itself. Now, this might sound very abstract, like, where is the spirit? What is it? But for Hegel, it's really permeating everything in the world. It's not some kind of mysterious, serious woo woo force, but rather the truth of movement, development, activity.

Things are always changing. They're always in a process of becoming. We can never say with certainty that this thing is what it is and it is fixed that way. Hegel's trying to get through his notion of spirit at the insight that the world is always in Flux in a state of change. And this is an interesting point when you think about history, because the claim is that history is actually essential for understanding the way things are. There's not some sort of permanent, eternal, unchanging truth.

And then history is sort of the predetermined way that. That unfolds chronologically. No, rather, the way things are is historical in its very being. Spirit, as this principle of activity that is driving things, is also driving them forward to a certain end. For Hegel, history is Teleological. On his view, which is a term that came up in the lecture on Kant, Teleological means aiming towards a certain logical, reasonable end. And so, for Hegel, things are always in a state of progress.

To put it simply, spirit is driving towards freedom. So Hegel describes freedom as the truth of spirit and says that when we talk about world history as spirit actualizing itself in concrete events throughout history through individual people's desires, what we're actually saying is that spirit is becoming more and more concrete. And this means that things are becoming freer, they're unifying, becoming more self conscious. And when we are self conscious, we are able to rule ourselves, govern ourselves, and that is the truth of freedom.

For Hegel, the goal towards which spirit is driving is thus, in a sense, freedom. But specifically speaking, Hegel really talks about it as the idea, which is another notion that comes up a lot in Hegel's work. The idea for Hegel is the Synthesis of subjectivity and objectivity, Synthesis of matter and spirit, Synthesis of really all these things that seem disparate and separate. And the idea actually needs human activity in order to help bring it about. It's not something sort of hovering up in the ether.

That needs to enter human history in some way. No, it is actually Imminent within human history. And it needs human activity in order to self Actualize. So humans have an essential role in the self development of spirituality. As it strives for its goal, which is the idea.

The goal of world history is the fulfillment of the concept of spirit. Spirit is conscious of its own freedom, and it has actualized freedom completely. And that is also what Haeckel calls the idea. So one thing you'll find is that it's easy to get sort of caught up in these different terms. But Hegel is really just trying to get at this notion that history is in a state of development. And that this state of development is Imminent within the conditions of the world. It doesn't need sort of something outside of it. For Hegel, the means are always internal to the end.

On page 26, Hegel says that the idea and human passion. Are the two elements of world history. And they come together concretely in the freedom that we receive through living within a state. The idea, as we said earlier, is the Synthesis of subjectivity and objectivity. It's the totality of all things. But its antithesis is passion. Passion is arbitrary, free or subjective, will say, of an individual person. And passion, Hegel says, even though it's antithetical to the idea, has a role to play in the actualization of reason. It provides a sort of driving force in what Hegel calls the cunning of reason.

So think about the way that as a person, you have individual interests, you have individual desires, you have individual goals. And those might seem to be unique to you, right? Hegel says, well, in trying to attain those desires, you are actually unwittingly doing the work of reason. You are helping actualized spirit in the world, even though you don't know it. And even if you're not doing good actions. Our actions, Hegel says, have meaning outside of our intentions. And even outside of the specific actions we undertake.

So he gives the example, for instance, of an arsonist who lights a house on fire in order to get revenge. Say it's the house of his enemy, but then accidentally ends up lighting an entire neighborhood on fire. And destroying a lot of property and even killing people on the way. Hegel says that person's actions had all sorts of consequences. That that person didn't intend. And this is where Hegel's seeming optimism starts to get a little dark, because he talks about, for instance, the slaughter bench of history.

Reason uses human passions in order to attain its own end. And in so doing, a lot of individual humans end up not attaining their goals or end up being destructive or even being destroyed. In this picture that Hegel gives of individuals being the unwitting instruments of reason, he focuses on a particular type of person whom he calls the world historical individual or the hero. The world historical individual is a person whose aims embody a Universal concept. They contain the will of the world spirit. So there are plenty of people whose particular passions, even though they're still part of this Teleological progress of history, aren't particularly useful for reason.

So, for instance, if my particular passion is to create a small business in my community, maybe it's a used car dealership, then, you know, in achieving that, I'm still part of the progress of history, according to Hegel. But I have a somewhat localized effect. There are others, however, whose effects go far beyond what they even could have anticipated. Perhaps it's somebody who starts a movement or somebody who lives a kind of quiet life while they're alive, but then afterward becomes venerated as a hero and ends up embodying a value that then culture really takes to and furthers for centuries to come. A lot of religious figures are like this.

Hegel says that for these individuals, the source of their actions comes from inner spirit. It's actually hidden to them themselves. So world historical individuals may or may not believe that they have an important mission to accomplish. And it doesn't really matter whether they do or not for Hegel. Because at the end of the day, they are bringing the idea into consciousness out of themselves, even when they're not aware of it.

Let's say something now about the state. For Hegel, the state is the object of world history. And what he means by the state is actually pretty broad. So he's not just talking about government here, although that's part of it. He's also talking about all dimensions of cultural life, right? Arts, religion, philosophy, education.

In addition, he talks about Ethical life. And Ethical life doesn't strictly mean here our moral actions. It actually just means our norms, our ways of living, our customs, right? It's sittleschkeit in German. And it also pertains to our environment. So the state for Hegel actually even extends to our climate, our geography, and which countries surround us as our neighbors.

And finally, it pertains to something we'll talk about a little bit next time, which is the volksgeist or the spirit of a people? Geist spirit folk people. For Hegel, the state is freedom that is actually rationally self conscious. And one thing that's important here is Hegel's claim that only within the state can freedom be actualized.

So this, in contrast, say, with a pretty common conception of freedom that we have, which is that in the state of nature, humans are completely free, but we're also pretty violent, you know, and infringing on each other's desires all the time. And so what we need to do is to enter a state state, enter a society where our freedoms are constrained. So I can retain certain freedoms, but I can't, say, retain the freedom to kill another person.

That notion, wherein the state is what constrains your freedom. But freedom is something you have naturally, because it's just the freedom to follow your desires, is very different from what Hegel has in mind. Hegel says, no, freedom requires self consciousness, and it requires recognition within a community. So it's actually only through the state, which includes all of those things I mentioned a little bit ago, not just government, but also cultural life and Ethical life and so on and so forth. Only there do I actually have the freedom that Hegel's talking about.

And in a perfect world, he says on page 27, the state's Universal goal is in line in union with the private interests of citizens. Of course, doesn't often work out that way. For Hegel, the state is the practical and lived union of the Universal and the particular. And what holds people together in the state is reason. So this is what makes the state different, say, from the family structure.

Hegel says that the family structure is based on blood ties or kinship ties, right? Whereas the state is based on ties of reason, which are Universal. And if this all still sounds pretty abstract, think about the fact that we encounter reason through the state in a literal, physical sense, right? By encountering laws, for instance. Or say I'm going to a national park to go climbing, and I have to stop at a kiosk and pay my way in, right? That's a way of me encountering the state.

I'm saying, okay, I'll pay $20 in order to support the upkeep of the park so I can go climbing here and keep it accessible for everybody. Or when I'm driving down the highway. Driving down the highway is a great example of the state structure and the fact that it enables freedom for me because it allows me to get from point a to point b much more quickly than if we didn't have the infrastructure providing for that. You can also see the state structure embodied in individuals who do service for the state, say a judge.

Philosophy, Education, History, Spirit, Hegel, State