Hegel and the Conflict with the Abstract Structure of German ‎Idealism: In Defense of Rehabilitating the Real World

Document Type : The Quarterly Jornal

Author

Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, ‎University of Kurdistan, Sanandaj, Iran.‎

Abstract

In this article, using a descriptive-analytical method, the author argues that in the philosophy of German Idealists—with the exception of Hegel—there is a notable absence of explaining reality as it is, of seeing truth within it, and of grounding philosophy in the explanation of existing reality. In the subjective worldview of Kant and Fichte, rationality and the logic of epistemology and ontology are not attributed to objective reality. Instead, only the subject possesses a conceptual logic that can comprehend or even create ideas—although in Kant's view, sensation plays a triggering role, it lacks its own internal logic. Consequently, the realm of objective matters is always subsumed under the rational forms of the subject. In Schelling's philosophy, the identity of nature and its recognition in the rational sphere are accepted; however, the explanation of this intelligibility in reality is still not possible through an objective concept. Instead, it is left to the philosopher's intellectual intuition. In this state, the concept is once again based on the consciousness and rationality of the subject. With Hegel, everything changes. Reality is rehabilitated, and the concept returns to the logic of the thing-in-itself (or the objective realm). As a result of the new definition of the concept that Hegel provides in this article, he can also remove the idea and the absolute from their abstract state, once again making the objective realm a subject of philosophy, and saving philosophy from being subject-centric.

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References

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