Abstract

This dissertation is a reconstruction of the philosophy of man implicit in the developed system of the mature Hegel. Its central thesis is that the Hegelian philosophy is one which wholeheartedly embraces humanness, that it accepts in man what is bestial and divine without reducing him to a beast or exhorting him to be god. ;The human individual is both organic life and self-knowing spirit. Animal-like at birth, he must cultivate his spirituality to make the most of his life. To be human is essentially to become human, and this takes effort, work, and self-sacrifice. Hegel's is an inherently normative philosophy of man, prescribing the good life even as it describes human reality. ;The pursuit of the good life leads man through the less spiritual levels of life, not around them. At each stage some measure of spirituality is achieved. Moreover, man's spiritual nature entitles him to seek satisfaction for himself. Through Hegel's eyes, the world appears to be filled with realized human aims. ;This celebration of human reality is made possible by the system which serves as the context for Hegel's philosophy of man. Our exposition begins with a discussion of "the whole"--the one thing in Hegel's view that is fully actual. Attention is then focused more directly on Hegel's concept of man--his place and function in the whole, and his vocation. Finally, we examine the environments--the physical, the public, and the "absolute"--in which the individual inevitably finds himself, and the activities he pursues in relation to each in the development of a complete life. ;These "environments" are the three major spheres of concrete spirit delineated in Hegel's philosophies of subjective, objective, and absolute spirit. Thus, this exposition of Hegel's philosophy of man is also an interpretation of Hegel's Philosophy of Spirit from a particular, clearly specified perspective. But the point of the exposition, and its most interesting result, is the vision of the good life it reveals. Despite the extravagance for which Hegel's philosophy is known, Hegel proves to be the champion of the "common prose of life."