Hegel Philosophy Of History

Before it can become clear how Marx turned Hegel on his head, an understanding of the theories of Hegel must be acquired. The study of the philosophy of history is a long and complicated one as many philosophers and historians have found multiple ways to define their field and to study the historical processes the world underwent. One of the most prominent and important figures of the philosophical study of history is the famed German writer, philosopher, and political theorist Friedrich Hegel. What separates Hegel from other theorists of the philosophy of history is his idea that the movement of history occurs in dynamic terms and shifts in historical epochs demonstrating a shift in direction in terms of ideas, and the way people approach the world around them. Hegel outlines his ideas about the philosophical approach to history in his writings Elements of the Philosophy of Right and Lecture on the Philosophy of History. Hegel writes that history is defined by a Geist, or Spirit which guides and defines it progress. Hegel states that “the essence of Spirit is freedom. All will readily assent to the doctrine that Spirit, among other properties, is also endowed with Freedom; but philosophy teaches that all qualities of Spirit exist only through freedom; that all are but means for attaining freedom; that all seek and produce this and this alone. It is a result of speculative philosophy, that Freedom is the sole truth of Sprit.” (815 Cahn) What Hegel is referring to in this quote is that Geist, or Spirit, is similar to the culture of the people and is constantly reworking itself and evolving to suit the needs of society and the ever-advancing pace of progress, technology, and change. Thus for Hegel the study of history is a study of ...

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...enal form of ‘the idea’ with me, on the contrary, the ideal is nothing else than the material world reflected by the human mind, and translated into forms of thought” (19 Marx Capital). Marx directly challenges Hegel’s belief of history being rooted around ideas, seeing history in a more materialistic light, focusing on the conflict between classes and the gradual path toward utopian communism. Thus as a result the stages of historical development follow of pattern of worker exploitation by the elites until a proletariat revolution. Because of Marx’s decision to ground the philosophical study of history in materialistic and scientific terms, choosing to focus upon real people and the relation to their labour and production instead of high concept idealistic notions, Marx is able to turn Hegel’s ideas of history and the concept of a spirit guiding history on its head.