Episode 15: Hegel on History

Summary: Discussing G.W.F Hegel's Introduction to the Philosophy of History. Though he didn't actually write a book with this name, notes on his lectures on this topic were published after his death, and the first chunk of that serves as a good entrance point to Hegel's very strange system.<br> How should a philosopher approach the study of history? Is history just a bunch of random happenings, or is it a purposive force manipulating us to fulfill its hidden ends? If you have asked yourself this question in this way, then you, like Hegel, are mighty strange.<br> Here we talk about the unfolding of the world-historical spirit, world-historical individuals (hint: not you), dialectic, his alternative to the social contract, the formation of the self based on what others label you, the geist of America, why a constitutional monarchy is obviously the best form of government, and heaps more.<br> Read with us: Pages 14-128 of <a href="http://socserv.mcmaster.ca/econ/ugcm/3ll3/hegel/history.pdf" target="_blank">this online version</a> or <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1456514776/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=theparexalif-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=217145&amp;creative=399373&amp;creativeASIN=1456514776" target="_blank">buy the book with only the part we're concerned with.</a><br> End Song: "Cold," by <a href="http://marklint.com/madisonlint.htm" target="_blank">Madison Lint</a> (2004), described in <a href="http://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2010/02/19/partially-naked-self-examination-music-blog-week-8/" target="_blank">my music blog</a>.<br>