Hegel and Dialectic

Research record

Hegel 's philosophy is an ambitious attempt to understand history, consciousness, society and reason in the same dynamic process in modern European thought. The fundamental strength of his philosophy lay in the idea that reality should not be thought of as a mere collection of static objects. Human beings, institutions, ideas, ethics and history are built within these shifting relationships. Resistance is not only a barrier to change; it is often a means to change. But to conclude immediately from this point that history has a definite end and an inevitable course or a universal destination is already settled is a parallel view of the text which takes caution on such claims. The Everyday Intellect tends to think of things as separate, ready, and fixed. But social institutions, moral values, political systems, or self-consciousness are not really fixed things. This is a result of the changing relationships within history. The thinking of Hegel emphasizes this dynamic. A concept finds its meaning not only in itself, but also in its opposites and relations. The question of what constitutes freedom cannot be understood apart from slavery, compulsion, law and social norms. The formulas for the thesis Antithesis Antisynthesis are popular under Hegel 's name, but his actual method is more complex than this school triptych. Importantly, the concept itself provokes tension that highlights its limitations. The imperfection of one form begets the need for another. This process becomes a method of understanding consciousness and the development of society and history, not just a technique for debate. In Phenomenology of Spirit, Swami Suvarnadasa Prasanga had a profound impact on modern social philosophy. Self-consciousness is not solely accomplished through self-awareness; recognition of other self-consciousnesses is essential. The dominator simply wants to objectify the opponent, but recognition by that person can only be meaningful if he or she is free self-conscious. This contrast highlights the extent of the dominance. Parallel philosophy considers this idea to be a useful clue in the analysis of caste, class, gender, and colonial relations. For Hegel, freedom is not just doing what we want. Real freedoms take social form through the law, the family, civil society and state institutions. The power of this idea is what makes freedom social. But there is also the danger that if the existing institutions are taken to be the full expression of reason, then the institution-consideration may weaken. Parallelism accepts the need for institutions, but does not regard any historical institution as a form of ultimate sanity. Hegel shows the extent of the consciousness of freedom in history. The motivating aspect of this idea is that history is not a pile of meaningless events; institutional change can have moral meaning. But turning history into a story of linear progression creates problems. Declaring a society that has not gone through European modernity as backward can give an ideological basis to the idea of colonial superiority. Parallel philosophy says to look for directions in history, but also to ask questions of direction, evidence, progress, cost, and displacement. There are many forms of opposition, transformation, and argument in Indian philosophy, but to call them precursors to Hegelian conflict would be anachronistic. The jurisprudential Purvapaksha, Purvottara Paksha, the Buddhist Madhyamaka pratipada-vibhagana, Samkhya 's qualitative changes, and Vedantic differences are all distinct historical approaches to debate. Useful comparisons are here so that truth-finding does not remove the opposition but makes it a means of reflection. Mithila 's shastrartha-samskara also develops the discipline of listening to the opposing side. One might say that every social order produces its own opposition, and from that opposition necessarily emerges the next higher state. From this point of view, the course of history seems logical and predictable.

Structured debate

Uttarapakṣa

Opposition is real, results are out Parallel philosophy accepts the reality of opposition but does not consider the outcome to be predetermined. A single protest can lead to reform, repression, dissolution, compromise or violence. Human actions, institutions, chance, technology, resources and moral choices influence the course of history.

Parallel conclusion

Parallel to Hegel, philosophy takes three lessons: treat realism as a process, see opposition not as an enemy of thought but as a means of examination, and associate freedom with social institutions. But they do not accept a predetermined end of history. Conflict is useful, determinism is not necessary.

Section index

1. 31.1 From stationary object to a process
2. 31.2 The meaning of the conflict
3. 31.3 Relationship of Swami Sivananda
4. 31.4 Freedom and the institution of
5. 31.5 The course of history
6. 31.6 Indian and Mithila - Parallel Dialogues
7. 31.7 Precedent: Conflict is the law of history
8. 31.8 Prohibition and protection within a conflict
9. 31.9 The master-slave relationship and recognition
10. 31.10 The Extent of Independence in History
11. 31.11 Intangible rights and tangible entities
12. 31.12 Systems and Incompleteness

Cite this record

Gajendra Thakur. “Hegel and Dialectic.” Videha Digital Research Archive: Mithila–Vajji–Anga. Videha — https://www.videha.co.in/ · ISSN 2229-547X · GitHub mirror: https://videha-ejournal.github.io/videha/ · Digital Research Archives on GitHub: https://github.com/videha-ejournal. https://videha-ejournal.github.io/mithila-vajji-anga/records/idea/philosophy-31/