Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Philosophie der Geschichte [The Philosophy of History]

Andrew Sola
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“To him who looks upon the world rationally, the world in its turn presents a rational aspect”—this statement, from the Introduction to G. W. F. Hegel's

Philosophy of History

, sums up both Hegel's historical purview and the epistemological foundation for his conception of history. Hegel believes that world history is rational and that a thinker can uncover the ultimate design of the world by utilizing his or her own reason to explain the rational basis of history, a rational basis that is hidden by faulty and limited thinking.

There are no less than four versions of the text of the Philosophy of History because Hegel did not create an authorized version himself. Each version, however, is based, first, on some or all of the lectures on the philosophy of history given by Hegel in

2379 words

Citation: Sola, Andrew. "Philosophie der Geschichte". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 14 December 2003 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=2787, accessed 19 March 2024.]

2787 Philosophie der Geschichte 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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