"Right" versus "left" is a conspicuous conflict in many facets of our modern American lives, but surely no other embodiment of this ongoing disagreement is as close to our hearts as that pertaining to Hegelianism. This is why I have chosen to devote the first installment of the "blog"'s new feature, "Mysteries of the Philosophers," to the comparison of a rightist and a leftist Hegelian.
F.H. Bradley, the British Idealist, was a rightist Hegelian. He thought that the way ethics required a person to act depended upon that person's specific station in life. According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, "It has been suggested, possibly with malice, that the Bradleys in general were disposed to hypochondria." Bradley dedicated several of his books to E.R., a person whose identity remains unknown to this day (mystery), and he also shot cats.
Ludwig Feuerbach (pictured) started out as a normal Hegelian, then became a leftist Hegelian, and finally decided not to be any sort of Hegelian at all (!). He used the Hegelian dialectic to demonstrate the inadequacy of idealism, the Prussian government, religion, and various other things. He married Berthe Löw in 1837, the same year my school was founded (coincidence?), and at one point tried to be a geologist.
Hegelians, by nature, lead mysterious lives (a few of which will likely feature in future installments of "Mysteries of the Philosophers"), but some are more intriguing than others. Now that you've become acquainted with the issues, which sort of Hegelian do you want to be?
No comments:
Post a Comment