Hegel's Historical Philosophy of Pure Reason

The main content of Hegel's philosophy of history following rational trick: include "rational ruse" sacrifice the pursuit of personal and universal,from right to wrong, to distinguish between good and evil is a sign of man's fate.So lace "national" this form of realization themselves, including individuals realize their essence and ethical living in the country to achieve their nature in the country. Objectively form of spiritual existence is the National Constitution, including the nature of the country's constitution to achieve through the national constitution should be consistent with national conditions, historical change by changing the country's constitution to reflect, the evolution of the national constitution in world history. History of the world from the East to the West development: including development is tough, tenacious struggle process exists in the spiritual development, advancement and orderly follow. History began in the sense of freedom, the various descriptions of the original state of humanity is assumed that the natural form of ethical life is filial piety. World history should be in the hands of philosophy, only philosophy in order to grasp the principles of world history in the process, beyond the moral history of the world. (G.W.F.Hegel,Lectures on the Philosophy of World History:Introductions,trans,H.B Nisbet,Cambrige:Cambrige University Press,1975,80)

Hegel's philosophy of history reflected in the "Phenomenology of Mind," "History of Reason" and "Philosophy of History" and other works. The culmination of classical German philosophy of his book collection, created a complete philosophical system of objective idealism. He said: "absolute idea" is the source of the universe, all of this. Changes in the world of sports but "absolute idea" The result of self-development that his philosophy is "absolute idea," the highest expression of the Kingdom of Prussia is a manifestation of "absolute idea" the best national system. So Hegel's philosophy is to defend the Prussian autocracy, but in his idealist philosophical system, put forward valuable dialectics idea that the entire natural, historical and spiritual world is a process that is constantly movement, changing and developing, and its internal contradictions but the development of a source. Marx and Engels critically inherited the rational core of Hegel's dialectic, the creation of materialist dialectics.

In  1805 he began writing "The Phenomenology of Mind," published in March 1807. German philosophical revolution which marked the beginning of Kant has entered a new stage, marked Hegel has become a sophisticated and great philosopher.  From the content will be divided into five phases. 1, consciousness. 2, self-consciousness, 3, reason; 4, spirit; 5, absolute spirit. Hegel's overall concept and a great sense of history, which are reflected in the history of the development of this consciousness. "Phenomenology of Mind" as the various stages of the development of human consciousness microcosm, profoundly reveals the person's individual development and the development of human society historical dialectics two aspects.

Hegel provided in this masterpiece of a history of the development of human consciousness epoch-making.Hegel said world history is a process of spiritual self-development in time. Spirit is a single common human spirit, the performance of all their language, soul and culture created by human use. History is the spirit of self-development, but also the world towards the process of self-awareness. The goal is to fully develop the historical spirit and full of self-awareness. The full self-consciousness, that is, the sense of freedom, it is the culmination of the development of the universe. Freedom is not arbitrariness, but act according to rational criteria. Thus, history is the gradual realization of our potential for freedom rational process, history is a story of intellectual freedom.(Soren Kierkegaard,Concluding Unscientific Postscript to Philosophical Fragments,trans,Howard V. Hong and Edna H.Hong,Princeton:Princeton University Press,1992,134.)

From the empirical point of view to look Hegel's rational philosophy of history, Hegel's philosophy of history found too pure reason, and Dewey, who views inconsistent, and even appear to be out of date; from analytic philosophy, philosophy of language point of view, Wittgenstein and later followers, even against Hegel's philosophy of history not rational, although he is the system; from the perspective of existentialist philosophy, what is the meaning of life? Hegel's philosophy of history pure reason can not answer this question, therefore Sartre and other people are opposed to rational Hegelian philosophy of history; the more revolutionary Marxist philosophy was more criticism of Hegel philosophy of history is idealist conception of history, in spite of Marxism largely absorbed Hegel's logic and dialectics, but in the history of philosophy, violently attacked his idealistic view of history, denying heroes make history, equally full view history of the world development.(Leszek Kolakowski,Toward a Marxist Humanisum:Essays on the Left Today,trans,Jane Zielonko Peel,New York:Grove City Press,1968,113.) Although many philosophers, many people opposed rational Hegelian philosophy of history, but we can not force future generations predecessors, Hegel's philosophical system to create still plays an active role, still has a reference.