Page 202 - DPOL201_WESTERN_POLITICAL_THOUGHT_ENGLISH

Western Political Thought

Notes • Hegel exerted considerable influence on subsequent political theory, particularly Marxism
and Existentialism. He has been claimed as the philosophical inspiration by both Communists
and Fascists. The British Idealist T.H. Green adapted Hegelianism to revise liberalism in the
late nineteenth century. Hegel influenced Bergson, Croce, John Dewey (1859-1952), Heidegger
(1889-1976), Jaspers, Kierkegaard, and Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980).
• Another important aspect of Hegel was his critical rationality. His questioning of the entire
political process opened up a new dimension of the otherwise conservative side of him. His
was a searching mind, always looking for answers to new and old questions, essentially
accepting Galileo’s assertion that “still it moves”. This only proved that it is difficult to
theorize or philosophize without acknowledging some debt to Hegel.

10.8 Key–Words

1. Privatdozent : Unsalaried lectures.
2. Preparatory school : Gymnasium
3. Endpoint : Final goal
4. Antithesis : Contingency

10.9 Review Questions

1. Comment on Hegel’s dialectical method.
2. What were the major influences on Hegel ?
3. What did Hegel mean by “real is rational” ?
4. What is Hegel’s Philosophy of History ?
5. Explain the statement ‘the state is the march of God on Earth’.
6. What are Hegel’s views about freedom of the Individual ?
Answers- Self Assessment
1. German 2. Privatdozent
3. Phenomenology of spirit 4. Cholera
5. What is rational in actual and what is actual is rational.

10.10 Further Readings

1. Mukherjee, S. and Ramaswamy, S. 2004: A History of Political Thought, PHI
Learning Pvt. Ltd.
2. Mukhopadhyay, A.K. 1990 Western Political Thought, Calcutta - KP Bagchi and
Company.

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