Hegel's philosophy of society, politics and history is exposed to ethical debate on human rights, the justification of legal punishment, criteria of moral responsibility, and authority of individual conscience.

This examination of Hegelian ethics is based on a comparison with that of Kant. The book contrasts their methods, the scope of their ethical theories, and their views as to the content of ethics. It concludes that, while Hegel worked with a moral psychology very different to Kant's, his ethical theory should not be dismissed for that reason.

The legal regulations and formal rules of democracy alone are not enough to hold a society together and govern its processes. Yet the irreducible ethical pluralism that characterizes contemporary society seems to make it impossible to impose a single system of values as a source of social cohesion and identity reference. In this book, Lucio Cortella argues that Hegel's theory of ethical life can provide such a grounding and makes the case through an analysis of Hegel's central political work, the Philosophy of Right. Although Hegel did not support democratic political ends and wrote in a historical and cultural context far removed from the current liberal-democratic scene, Cortella maintains that the Hegelian theory of ethical life, with its emphasis on securing a framework conducive to human freedom, nevertheless offers a convincing response to the problem of the ethical uprootedness of contemporary democracy.

It is well known that Hegel conceives of history as the gradual process of rational thought and of forms of political life. But he is usually thought to place himself at the end of this process. This book argues that an essential part of Hegel's historical-political thinking has escaped the notice of its interpreters.

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Excerpt from The Ethical Theory of Hegel: A Study of the Philosophy of Right This book was written for the most part before the war, and, save for a slight revision in the early part of 1915, is untouched by war influences. In spite of the long delay which has ensued before publication, I have thought it better to leave my work as it stands. No doubt a very much better book could be written, but any alterations which I should be inclined to make at present would alter the purpose which the book is intended to serve. My intention was to write not on ethical and political theory but on Hegel, and I have made no attempt to recast the Hegelian doctrine in the light of our present knowledge. A reconstruction of our modern problems and outlook on the basis of Hegel's teaching would be an exceedingly valuable contribution to knowledge, but it is a larger task than is attempted here. The first step toward it is a reasonable knowledge of the authentic Hegel himself, and it is only this step that I have tried to take. Much of the criticism of Hegel current to-day and in the last few years appears to be vitiated by an unsympathetic and somewhat inaccurate interpretation of Hegel, and my endeavour has been to provide an account which will make his view more intelligible. Accordingly criticism has been reduced to a minimum, and has been undertaken only when the comprehension of the theory itself seemed to demand it. Nothing which I have seen since the book was first written has led me to alter my view of Hegel's teaching. My indebtedness in carrying out this work has been great. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

A new and significantly expanded edition of the first systematic reading of Hegel's political philosophy.

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.