This book is a translation of a classic work of modern social and political thought, Elements of the Philosophy of Right. Hegel's last major published work, is an attempt to systematize ethical theory, natural right, the philosophy of law, political theory and the sociology of the modern state into the framework of Hegel's philosophy of history. Hegel's work has been interpreted in radically different ways, influencing many political movements from far right to far left, and is widely perceived as central to the communication tradition in modern ethical, social and political thought. This edition includes extensive editorial material informing the reader of the historical background of Hegel's text, and explaining his allusions to Roman law and other sources, making use of lecture materials which have only recently become available. The new translation is literal, readable and consistent, and will be informative and scholarly enough to serve the needs of students and specialists alike.

A series of original essays exploring the key themes of Hegel's seminal work, Elements of the Philosophy of Right.

This book is a translation of a classic work of modern social and political thought, Elements of the Philosophy of Right. Hegel's last major published work, is an attempt to systematize ethical theory, natural right, the philosophy of law, political theory and the sociology of the modern state into the framework of Hegel's philosophy of history. Hegel's work has been interpreted in radically different ways, influencing many political movements from far right to far left, and is widely perceived as central to the communication tradition in modern ethical, social and political thought. This edition includes extensive editorial material informing the reader of the historical background of Hegel's text, and explaining his allusions to Roman law and other sources, making use of lecture materials which have only recently become available. The new translation is literal, readable and consistent, and will be informative and scholarly enough to serve the needs of students and specialists alike.

Complete and unabridged, this edition of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel's 1821 classic offers a comprehensive view of the philosopher's influential system. In the Philosophy of Right, Hegel applies his most important concept--the dialectics--to law, rights, morality, the family, economics, and the state. The last of Hegel's works to be published in his lifetime, this volume combines moral and political philosophy to form a sociologic view dominated by the idea of the state. Hegel defines universal right as the synthesis between the thesis of an individual acting in accordance with the law and the occasional conflict of an antithetical desire to follow private convictions. The state, he declares, must permit individuals to satisfy both demands, thereby realizing social harmony and prosperity--the perfect synthesis. Further, Hegel renounces his formerly favorable assessment of the French Revolution and rejects the republican form of government, suggesting instead an idealized form of a constitutional monarchy, in which ultimate power rests with the sovereign.

Hegel’s Philosophy of Right was his last systematic work and the most complete statement of his mature views on ethical and political philosophy. The text explores the relationships between three distinct conceptions of human freedom: persons as possessing contract rights, subjects as reflective moral agents, and individuals as members of an ethical community. It strongly influenced the early Marx and debates over liberalism and communitarianism that arose in the latter half of the twentieth century. In celebration of the 200th anniversary of the publication of the Philosophy of Right, the 18 essays in this volume by contemporary scholars examine the nature and impact of Hegel's text. They examine a diverse array of topics, ranging from Hegel's account of rights, religious freedom, gender, the state, history, and naturalism to some hitherto relatively overlooked topics such as Hegel and Luther, art and nationality, and Hegel and the market. Each contribution also pays homage to the work of Terry Pinkard, who, as a foremost interpreter and scholar of Hegel’s thought, revived and reinvented the contemporary field of Hegel studies. Hegel's Philosophy of Right: Critical Perspectives on Freedom and History will be valuable reading for scholars of Hegel, nineteenth-century German philosophy, moral and political philosophy, and the history of political thought.

A major and timely re-examination of key areas in the social and political thought of Hegel and Marx. The editors' extensive introduction surveys the development of the connection from the Young Hegelians through the main Marxist thinkers to contemporary debates. Leading scholars including Terrell Carver, Chris Arthur and Gary Browning debate themes such as: the nature of the connection itself; scientific method; political economy; the Hegelian basis to Marx's 'Doctoral Dissertation'; human needs; history and international relations.

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel was one of the foremost philosophers of the nineteenth century, best known for his exploration of the realm of human existence, and, in particular, his beliefs in an ultimate reality called the Absolute Spirit. A lifelong scholar, theorist, lecturer and writer, Hegel's reputation as the most important philosopher in Germany eventually led to his prestigious post as Chair of Philosophy at the University of Berlin in 1818, a position he would hold till his death in 1831. In 1820, Hegel published his most sophisticated statements of legal, moral, social and political philosophy in his Philosophy of Right. The work begins with a discussion of the concept of free will, and progresses into the examination of Hegel's three spheres of 'right': abstract right, morality, and ethical life. Although Hegel's reputation has diminished significantly, his influence can be seen in the works of such important figures as Karl Marx, Jean-Paul Sartre, F. W. Bradley, and John Dewey.

Hegel famously argues that his speculative method is a foundation for claims about socio-political reality within a wider philosophical system. This systematic approach is thought a superior alternative to all other ways of philosophical thinking. Hegel's method and system have normative significance for understanding everything from ethics to the state. Hegel's approach has attracted much debate among scholars about key philosophical questions - and controversy about his proposed answers to them. Is his method and system open to the charge of dogmatism? Are his claims about the rationality of monarchy, unequal gender relations, an unelected second parliamentary chamber and a corporation-based economy beyond revision? This ground-breaking collection of new essays by leading interpreters of Hegel's philosophy is dedicated to the questions that surround Hegel's philosophical method and its relationship to the conclusions of his political philosophy. It contributes to the on-going debate about the importance of a systematic context for political philosophy, the relationship between theoretical and practical philosophy, and engages with contemporary discussions about the shape of a rational social order.

A bold and beautifully written exploration of the “afterlife” of God, showing how apparently secular habits of mind in fact retain the structure of religious thought. Once in the West, our lives were bounded by religion. Then we were guided out of the darkness of faith, we are often told, by the cold light of science and reason. To be modern was to reject the religious for the secular and rational. In a bold retelling of philosophical history, Michael Rosen explains the limits of this story, showing that many modern and apparently secular ways of seeing the world were in fact profoundly shaped by religion. The key thinkers, Rosen argues, were the German Idealists, as they sought to reconcile reason and religion. It was central to Kant’s philosophy that, if God is both just and assigns us to heaven or hell for eternity, we must know what is required of us and be able to choose freely. In trying to live moral lives, Kant argued, we are engaged in a collective enterprise as members of a “Church invisible” working together to achieve justice in history. As later Idealists moved away from Kant’s ideas about personal immortality, this idea of “historical immortality” took center stage. Through social projects that outlive us we maintain a kind of presence after death. Conceptions of historical immortality moved not just into the universalistic ideologies of liberalism and revolutionary socialism but into nationalist and racist doctrines that opposed them. But how, after global wars and genocide, can we retain faith in any conception of shared moral progress and, if not, what is to become of the idea of historical immortality? That is our present predicament. A seamless blend of philosophy and intellectual history, The Shadow of God is a profound exploration of secular modernity’s theistic inheritance.

What is meant by the concept of civil society? Why do some equate it with liberal democracy, while others think it simply a guise for a market economy? Who benefits from globalization and who loses out? Can civil society prosper in an era of globalization? Can global civil society restrain some of the negative consequences of economic globalization? Through a series of unique case studies and theoretical inquiries, this volume provides a set of concrete answers to questions such as these.