Hegel's Critique of Modernity: Reconciling Individual Freedom and the Community

by Timothy C. Luther

Overview

Hegel's enduring importance lies in the fact that his philosophy sheds light on many contemporary problems; his conception of freedom enables us to reconcile many of the differences that divide liberalism and communitarianism. While liberalism tends to overemphasize the individual and devalue the community, communitarianism tends to do the reverse. One of his central aims is to integrate liberalism's concern for the political rights and interests of individuals within the framework of a community. He tries to reconcile the individual and community in a way that creates the proper mix of liberty and authority. One of Hegel's goals is to discover social structures that will allow individuals to escape the alienation that characterizes contemporary life. He sought a method of reconciling his contemporaries to the modern world by overcoming the things that split the self from the social world; that is, a place where people are at home in the social world. A sense of estrangement is all too common, even for those who enjoy more personal freedom and material abundance than ever thought possible. While Hegel is speaking directly to and about his contemporaries, their social world bears much in common with ours. Consequently, his attempt to reconcile philosophical and social contradictions can elucidate our own condition. While the modern world reflects important contributions, the advent of modern liberalism leads to excessive individualism that fragments social life, leaving individuals disconnected and adrift from meaningful social life. The major goal of Hegel's political philosophy is to reconcile the individual with his or her political community in a way that overcomes the alienation of modern life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780739129807
Publisher:	Lexington Books
Publication date:	08/07/2010
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	412
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Timothy C. Luther is professor of political science at California Baptist University and author of Lobbyists, Congress, and Gridlock: Private Money v. Public Interest, Hegel and Marx: Economics and Politics, and The Political Philosophy of Democracy: Its Origins, Promises, and Perils.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements xi

1 Introduction 1

The Purpose of the Book 4

Hegel's Philosophical Importance 10

A Preview of the Chapters 13

2 Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel: His Philosophy and Context 19

Hegel's History of Philosophy 22

The Development of Western Philosophy 23

The Modern Conflict Between the Individual and Community 28

Hegel's Philosophy in Context 30

The Dialectical Method: Geist and Aufhebungen 42

Hegel's Critique of Modernity 51

3 The Dialectic and History: The Odyssey of Liberty 63

Geist, Freedom, and Conflict 67

The Dialectic of World History 69

The Oriental World 72

Ancient Greece 78

The Roman Empire 81

Medieval Christianity 83

The Reformation and the Renaissance 86

The Enlightenment 90

The French Revolution 92

Hegel's Life and Times 95

Freedom and the Community 105

4 Hegel's Sittlichkeit: Individual Freedom in Ethical Life 117

Greek Sittlichkeit 122

Kant's Metaphysics of Morals and Modern Freedom 128

Hegel's Critique of Kant's Modernism 135

Modern Sittlichkeit 140

5 The Family and Bürgerliche Gesellschaft: Hegel's Realm of Particular Freedom 155

The Family 158

Civil Society 165

The System of Needs and Political Economy 167

The Administration of Justice and Property 172

Police and the Regulation of Community Welfare 179

Corporations 183

The Particular and Subjective Freedom 186

6 Autonomy and Solidarity: Hegel's Rechtsstaat 199

The Critique of Social Contract Theory 203

Reconciling Individualism and Community 207

Hegel's Rechtsstaat 212

Constitutional Monarchy 213

The Universal Estate 215

The Legislative Assembly 216

Separation of Church and State and Toleration 220

Hegel's Critique of Modern Liberalism 226

7 The Emergence of Hegelianism: Right and Left Movements 243

Hegel's Philosophy of Versöhnung 247

Immediate Reactions to Hegelianism 250

Left Hegelianism 253

Ludwig Feuerbach 256

Marx's Dialectic 261

Hegel and the Real World 269

8 Nineteenth-Century Rejections of Hegelianism 279

Existentialism as a Response to Hegelianism 281

Soren Kierkegaard: Philosophy Without Foundations 282

Friedrich Nietzsche and the Criticism of Metaphysics 288

Hegel's Critique of Modern Metaphysics 296

9 Hegel and Postmodernism 313

Critical Theory and Negative Dialectics 317

Postmetaphysical Intersubjectivity 326

Phenomenological and Philosophical Hermeneutics 329

Poststructuralism and Deconstruction 333

Hegel's Antifoundational Defense of Modernity 337

10 Conclusion: Hegel Today 345

Hegel and Economic Justice 347

Political Economy and Alienation 348

Contemporary Globalization 352

Hegel and Contemporary Dilemmas 363

Excessive Individualism and Fragmentation 366

Restoring Community and Ethical Life 370

Bibliography 381

Index 393

Editorial Reviews

Luther provides a thoroughly clear presentation of Hegel's political philosophy. But more importantly, through the use of concrete examples, he demonstrates connections between Hegel's philosophy and contemporary political issues. The result is that Luther makes Hegel much more accessible to undergraduate students, an impressive achievement given Hegel's notorious reputation.

Patrick Horn

It is a sign of [Luther's] achievement that he is able to provide clear explanations of the dialectic and ofGeist; ...Luther has done us a great service by indicating the pressing need to think about the tension between the individual good and the common good, especially in light of our current economic woes. He has drawn up a detailed map of the Hegelian territory and marked the locations of buried treasure. We should be grateful for his exegetical and philosophic labors.

Perspectives on Politics

This is a very thorough, substantive, and readable discussion of the issue of individual freedom and the community in Hegel’s thought. It is centered on his Philosophy of Right, but in the double context of his philosophy of history and the post-Hegelian history of European modernity. What makes the book most interesting and relevant is the author’s Hegelian reflections on contemporary globalization, whose economic consequences we are now beginning to suffer due to individualism gone mad. I would heartily recommend it to educated readers, Hegel scholars, and political philosophers alike.

Anselm K. Min

It is a sign of [Luther's] achievement that he is able to provide clear explanations of the dialectic and ofGeist; ...Luther has done us a great service by indicating the pressing need to think about the tension between the individual good and the common good, especially in light of our current economic woes. He has drawn up a detailed map of the Hegelian territory and marked the locations of buried treasure. We should be grateful for his exegetical and philosophic labors.

Perspectives On Politics

Luther provides a thoroughly clear presentation of Hegel's political philosophy. But more importantly, through the use of concrete examples, he demonstrates connections between Hegel's philosophy and contemporary political issues. The result is that Luther makes Hegel much more accessible to undergraduate students, an impressive achievement given Hegel's notorious reputation.--Patrick Horn, Claremont Graduate University

This is a very thorough, substantive, and readable discussion of the issue of individual freedom and the community in Hegel's thought. It is centered on his Philosophy of Right, but in the double context of his philosophy of history and the post-Hegelian history of European modernity. What makes the book most interesting and relevant is the author's Hegelian reflections on contemporary globalization, whose economic consequences we are now beginning to suffer due to individualism gone mad. I would heartily recommend it to educated readers, Hegel scholars, and political philosophers alike.--Anselm K. Min, Claremont Graduate University

It is a sign of [Luther's] achievement that he is able to provide clear explanations of the dialectic and ofGeist; ...Luther has done us a great service by indicating the pressing need to think about the tension between the individual good and the common good, especially in light of our current economic woes. He has drawn up a detailed map of the Hegelian territory and marked the locations of buried treasure. We should be grateful for his exegetical and philosophic labors.--Perspectives on Politics

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