Absolute idealism is an ontologically monistic
philosophy attributed to G.W.F. Hegel. It is Hegel's account of how
being is ultimately comprehensible as an all-inclusive whole. Hegel asserted that in order for the
thinking subject (human reason or consciousness) to be able to know its
object (the world) at all, there must be in some sense an identity of thought and being. Otherwise, the subject would never have access to the object and we
would have no certainty about any of our knowledge of the world. To account for the differences between thought and being,
however, as well as the richness and diversity of each, the unity of thought and being cannot be expressed as the abstract
identity "A=A". Absolute idealism is the attempt to demonstrate this unity using a new "speculative" philosophical method, which
requires new concepts and rules of logic. According to Hegel, the absolute ground of being is essentially a dynamic, historical
process of necessity that unfolds by itself in the form of increasingly complex forms of being and of consciousness, ultimately
giving rise to all the diversity in the world and in the concepts with which we think and make
sense of the world.
Teachings
For Hegel, the interaction of opposites generates in dialectical fashion all concepts we use
in order to understand the world. Moreover, this development occurs not only in the individual mind, but also through history. In
the Phenomenology of Spirit, for example, Hegel presents a history of human consciousness as a journey through stages of
explanations of the world. Each successive explanation created problems and oppositions within itself, leading to tensions which
could only be overcome by adopting a view that could accommodate these oppositions in a higher unity. At the base of spirit lies
a rational development. This means that the absolute itself is exactly that rational development. The assertion that "All reality is spirit" means that all of reality rationally orders itself and
while doing so creates the oppositions we find in it. Even nature is not different from the
spirit since it itself is ordered by the determinations given to us by spirit. Nature, as that which is not spirit is so
determined by spirit, therefore it follows that nature is not absolutely other, but understood as other and therefore not
essentially alien.
The aim of Hegel was to show that we do not relate to the world as if it is other from us, but that we continue to find
ourselves back into that world. With the realisation that both my mind and the world are ordered according to the same rational
principles, our access to the world has been made secure, a security which was lost after Kant proclaimed the 'Ding an sich' to
be ultimately inaccessible.
The Absolute Idealist position should be distinguished from Berkeleyan Idealism
(Berkeley), Transcendental Idealism
(Kant), subjective idealism (Fichte), and Objective idealism (Schelling).
German Idealism
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References
British idealism
British idealism does not refer to all idealist philosophers who happened to be British (e.g. Berkeley), but rather to
a philosophical movement that was influential in Britain from the mid-nineteenth century to
the early twentieth century. The leading figures in the movement were T.H. Green (1836-1882), F.H. Bradley (1846-1924), and
Bernard Bosanquet (1848-1923). They were succeeded by the second
generation of J. M. E. McTaggart, H. H.
Joachim, J. H. Muirhead, and G. R. G. Mure.
The doctrines of British idealism so provoked the young Cambridge philosophers G. E.
Moore and Bertrand Russell that they gave birth to analytic philosophy.
Though much more variegated than some commentaries would seem to suggest, British idealism was generally marked by several
broad tendencies: a belief in an Absolute (a single all-encompassing reality that
in some sense formed a coherent and all-inclusive system); the assignment of a high place to reason as both the faculty by which the Absolute's structure is grasped and as that structure itself; and a
fundamental unwillingness to accept a dichotomy between thought and object, reality consisting of thought-and-object together in
a strongly coherent unity.
British idealism largely developed from the German Idealist movement -- particularly
such philosophers as Immanuel Kant and G.W.F. Hegel, who were characterised by Green, among others, as the salvation of British
philosophy after the alleged demise of empiricism. The movement was certainly a reaction
against the thinking of John Locke, David Hume,
John Stuart Mill, Henry Sidgwick, and other
empiricists and utilitarians. Some of those involved would have denied any specific
influence, particularly in respect of Hegel. Nevertheless, James Hutchison
Stirling's book The Secret of Hegel is believed to have won
significant converts in Britain.
British idealism was influenced by Hegel at least in broad outline, and undeniably adopted some of Hegel's terminology and
doctrines. Examples include not only the aforementioned Absolute, but also a doctrine of internal relations, a coherence theory of
truth, and a concept of a concrete universal. Some commentators have also
pointed to a sort of dialectical structure in e.g. some of the writings of Bradley. But none of the British idealists adopted
Hegel's philosophy wholesale, and his most significant writings on logic seem to have found no
purchase whatsoever in their thought (nor in British thought generally).
On its political side, the British idealists were largely concerned to refute what they regarded as a brittle and "atomistic"
form of individualism, as espoused by e.g. Herbert
Spencer. In their view, humans are fundamentally social beings in a manner and to a degree not adequately recognized by
Spencer and his followers. The British Idealists did not, however, reify the State in the manner that Hegel apparently did; Green
in particular spoke of the individual as the sole locus of value and contended that the State's existence was justified only
insofar as it contributed to the realization of value in the lives of individual persons.
The hold of British idealism in the UK weakened when Bertrand Russell and G.E. Moore, who were educated in the
British idealist tradition, turned against it. Moore in particular delivered what quickly came to be accepted as conclusive
arguments against Idealism. At that point British philosophy in general revolted once more against metaphysics in general. The later work of R.G. Collingwood was a
relatively isolated exception. Among present-day UK philosophers the best-known exponent of absolute idealism is probably
Timothy L.S. Sprigge.
British idealism's influence in the United States was somewhat limited. The early
thought of Josiah Royce had something of a neo-Hegelian cast, as did that of a handful of
his less famous contemporaries. The American rationalist Brand Blanshard was so strongly
influenced by Bradley, Bosanquet, and Green (and other British philosophers) that he could almost be classified as a British
philosopher himself. Even this limited influence, though, did not last out the twentieth
century.
References
- William Ritchie Sorley, A History of British Philosophy to 1900, is an
idiosyncratic account of the British tradition centred in British Idealism, first published 1920 as A History of English
Philosophy
Neo-Hegelianism
Neo-Hegelianism is a school (or schools) of thought associated and inspired by the works of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, a German idealist
philosopher active around the year 1800. During the late 19th and early 20th century, many
European and American philosophers revived interest in Hegel's works, especially those pertaining to the importance of spirit,
and the belief that ideas and moral ideals are fundamental.
Hegelianism after Hegel
Although Hegel died in 1831, his philosophy lived on. In politics, there was a developing
schism, even before his death, between right Hegelians and left Hegelians. Marxism developed out of the latter group.
In philosophy of religion, Hegel's influence soon became very powerful in the
English-speaking world. The British school, called British idealism and partly
Hegelian in inspiration, included Thomas Hill Green, William Wallace, F.H. Bradley and
Edward Caird. It was primarily directed towards political philosophy.
America saw the development of a school of Hegelian thought in St. Louis,
Missouri even when that city was barely past its own frontier
stage.
German twentieth-century neo-Hegelians
In Germany there was a neo-Hegelianism (neohegelianismus) of the early twentieth
century, partly developing out of the Neo-Kantians. Richard Kroner wrote one of its leading works, a history of German
idealism from a Hegelian point of view.
Other notable neo-Hegelians
- Josiah Royce (1855 - 1916), an American defender of absolute
idealism.
- Benedetto Croce (1866 - 1952), an Italian philosopher who defended Hegel's account
on how we understand history. Croce wrote primarily on topics of Aesthetics, such as artistic
inspiration/intuition and personal expression.
- Giovanni Gentile (1875-1944), important philosopher within the fascist movement. Ghost-wrote "The Doctrine of Fascism"
Criticisms
Exponents of analytic philosophy, which has been the dominant form of
Anglo-American philosophy for most of the last century, have criticised Hegel's work as hopelessly obscure. Existentialists also criticise Hegel for ultimately choosing an essentialistic whole over the
particularity of existence. Epistemologically, one of the main problems plaguing Hegel's system is how these thought
determinations have bearing on reality as such. A perennial problem of his metaphysics seems to be the question of how spirit
externalises itself and how the concepts it generates can say anything true about nature. At the same time, they will have to,
because otherwise Hegel's system concepts would say nothing about something that is not itself a concept and the system would
come down to being only an intricate game involving vacuous concepts.
Schopenhauer
Schopenhauer noted that Hegel created his absolute idealism after Kant had
discredited all proofs of God's existence. The Absolute is a non-personal
substitute for the concept of God. It is the one subject that perceives the universe as one
object. Individuals share in parts of this perception. Since the universe exists as an idea in the mind of the
Absolute, it copies Spinoza's panentheism in which
everything is in God or Nature.
Moore and Russell
Famously, G.E. Moore’s rebellion against absolutism found expression in his defense of common sense against the radically
counter-intuitive conclusions of absolutism (e.g. time is unreal, change is unreal, separateness is unreal, imperfection is
unreal, etc.). G.E. Moore also pioneered the use of logical analysis against the absolutists, which Bertrand Russell promulgated
and began the entire tradition of analytic philosophy with its use against the philosophies of his direct predecessors. In
recounting his own mental development Russell reports, "For some years after throwing over [absolutism] I had an optimistic riot
of opposite beliefs. I thought that whatever Hegel had denied must be true." (Russell in Barrett and Adkins 1962, p.477)
Also:
G.E. Moore took the lead in the rebellion, and I followed, with a sense of emancipation. [Absolutism] argued that everything
common sense believes in is mere appearance. We reverted to the opposite extreme, and thought that everything is real that common
sense, uninfluenced by philosophy or theology, supposes real.
– Bertrand Russell; as quoted in Klemke 2000,
p.28
Pragmatism
Particularly the works of William James and F.C.S. Schiller, both founding members of pragmatism, made lifelong assaults on
Absolute Idealism. James was particularly concerned with the monism that Absolute Idealism engenders, and the consequences this
has for the problem of evil, free will, and moral action. Schiller rather attacked Absolute Idealism for being too disconnected
with our practical lives, and that its proponents failed to realize thought are merely tools for action rather than for making
discoveries about an abstract world that fails to have any impact on us.
Relation to religion
Some form of idealism related to absolute idealism has been a consistent favorite standpoint for earlier religious thinkers
and philosophers. It is present in the thinking of many important Christian theologians such as Meister Eckhart. It is also the basis of
Advaita Hinduism and several forms of Buddhism,
including Zen, Madhyamika, Yogacara, and some interpretations of Pure Land. Classifying these
directions under the common denominator 'absolute idealism', though, would be incorrect, because it would blur distinctions which
are necessary for comprehending these traditions in their own right.
Relation to science
Absolute idealism or Hegelianism has influenced the Humanities to a great extent. In German they are called
"Geisteswissenschaften" and in Dutch "Geesteswetenschappen", a direct influence of the Hegelian notion of spirit (Geist). In
sociology for instance the position of important sociologist Ralph Dahrendorf is inspired by Hegel.
Lately American historian Francis Fukuyama was inspired by an alleged thesis of Hegel, namely the End of History, to write an
immensely popular book. That Hegel proclaimed the end of history though is a myth popularised by the French Hegel interpreter
Aleksandr Kojeve.
In many philosophic circles it is accepted that the philosophy of nature Hegel proposes is outdated, though it was state of
the art when he proposed it. A full one third of Hegel's library consisted of hand books on natural science. Currently
contributors like Houlgate argue that Hegel's philosophy of nature warrants closer attention and has been unjustifiably relegated
to the dust bin of philosophy.
Influence
Absolute idealism has greatly altered the philosophical landscape. Paradoxically, (though, from a Hegelian point of view,
maybe not paradoxically at all) this influence is mostly felt in the strong opposition it engendered. Both logical positivism and analytic philosophy grew out of a
rebellion against Hegelianism prevalent in England during the 19th century. Continental phenomenology, existentialism and post-modernism also seek to 'free themselves from Hegel's thought'. Martin Heidegger, one of the leading figures of Continental
philosophy in the 20th century, sought to distance himself from Hegel's work. One of Heidegger's philosophical themes was
"overcoming metaphysics".
See also
Sources
- Fundamental Wisdom of the Middle Way (Garfield)
- Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy (Blackburn)
- A History of Christian Thought (Tillich)
- From Socrates to Sartre (Lavine)
- Hegel: Een inleiding (Ed. Ad Verbrugge et al) (in Dutch)
- Hegels Idealism, The Satisfactions of Self Consciousness (Pippin)
- Endings, Questions of Memory in Hegel and Heidegger (Ed. Mc Cumber, Comay)
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