| It is for such a long time that Hegel’s philosophy of right has been the main talking point in the academic circle. New interpretations of it had never sign of disappearance. Especially in the last thirty years, the scholars, both at home and abroad, tend to put Hegel’s philosophy of right into the context of contemporary political debate, and hope to transfer it to be such kind of modes of thought, which constitutes modern normative theory, and provides the resources of thought for modern liberal democracies. However, these interpretations also have their dangerous trends, which not only lower the philosophical interest of Hegel, but also conceal the more profound insight of it. From the perspective of this research, Hegel’s philosophy of right is essentially a metaphysics, and it is precisely basing on his insight to the internal contradiction of modern rationalistic and humanistic politics,which is the consequence of subjectization of reason, that Hegel has to consider the practical philosophy as a metaphysics. This dissertation attempts to revive Hegel as one of figures in the context of German idealism, focus on young Hegel’s efforts to criticize the legislation of subjective reason and rebuild the objective reason, investigate the fundamental problematic of Hegel’s philosophy of right, and reveal the great significance of Hegel’s philosophy of right as metaphysics. This dissertation will be divided into five parts:"Chapter1, Reason and Actuality in Hegel’s Philosophy of Right". First of all, I will present a critical reflection on various interpretation, in order to show that we should shift the research on Hegel’s philosophy of right to philosophical interest on Hegel’s philosophy, that is, not being satisfied within political or historical interest. Only so, can we understand there is an important ontological presupposition in Hegel’s philosophy of right, namely, his monism of reason. Reason is a process by and for itself, together with self-denial and self-differentiation; norms and idea of right must be such kind of true infinity of self-perfection, not limited in Kantian rational agent’s self-legislation, simply because this subjectivity produces split, as a kind of bad infinity, between worldliness and unworldliness, belief and knowledge, theory and practice, which is what Hegel tries to overcome in his systematic philosophy. Nevertheless, two-dimension of time and eternity in Hegel’s concept of absolute reason is the pivot of his fabrication of philosophy of right. "Chapter2, Paradox of Rational Legislation". Hegel revealed the paradox of enlightenment rational agent’s self-legislation in his early theological works; overcoming this paradox constitutes Hegel’s main motive of his philosophy of right and influences his philosophy career entirely. In his youth, Hegel once was an active proponent of Kant’s rational theology and moral religion, while later, enlightened by Schelling and Holderlin, he came to realize the problem in Kant’s moral theology, that is, as a moral legislator, is always alien, and God’s kingdom is always beyond this world, showing the self-alienation of reason. The essence of Kant’s dualism is nothing else but the paradox of self-legislation (autonomy), namely, activity of enlightenment agent makes new inactivity, and all the antithesis of reason and belief, inward disposition and outward imperative laws is shifted inside gulf and self-alienation of rational agent. Early years’ acceptance to Kant actually implied the later criticism, because he inherited spirit of reason and freedom in a way of non-dualism. As a student of theology, Hegel religiously (love and life) attempts to overcome the antithesis in reason and sensation, subject and object, conception and reality existing in categorical imperatives."Chapter3, Criticism to Subjective Reason". Hegel did not base his criticism on subjective idealism on misunderstanding, on the contrary, he has fully understood the important significance of Kant’s transcendental philosophy and Fichte’s doctrine of the self. Those two kinds of philosophy directly point to "absoluteness" and "truth" itself, but limited in form of subjectivism, sticking to opposition between thinking (conception, form, uniformity) and being (intuition, content, manifold), thus causing submitting of knowledge to belief and dependence of absoluteness on empirical contingency. Therefore, the reason why we need philosophy is that the subjective identity of subject and object must be shifted to the objective one, so the split of thinking and being is overcome fundamentally. This chapter focuses on ascertaining two texts in Hegel’s earlier Jena period:they are Hegel’s first philosophy works "Difference between Fichte’s and Schelling’s Systems of Philosophy", and an important thesis named "Faith and Knowledge" published in "Critical Journal of Philosophy". From this investigation, we can clearly find what Hegel’s philosophical motive and main concerns are in his philosophy of rights."Chapter4, Rational Law as Ethical Nature". Another thesis, published in "Critical Journal of Philosophy", entitled "The Scientific Ways of Treating Natural Law" is Hegel’s "first philosophy of right", in which he begins to employ the achievements of his criticism of reflective philosophy on the inquiries into practical philosophy. Modern empiricism and formalism research approaching about natural law tried to establish science of natural law based on dichotomy of fact and value, so as to limited in particular and contingent experiences in the content. According to Hegel, ground of normativity and actuality of law can not be reached from subjective reflection, i. e. Negative self-legislation or ruling of freedom on nature, unless we explicate inner necessity of law from the rationality of present thing itself to reach scientific natural law research. As substance, nature itself has the normative connotation, and absolute rational law is included in human’s actual existence as ethical nature. So, science of natural law must go with speculative "System of Ethical Life" simultaneously, and law, in the progress of inner purposiveness, by itself reaches the unity of intuition and conception, necessity and freedom, getting the identification of absolute ethical life with differentiation, including explaining the intrinsic rationality of the actual existence of human beings during the whole process."Epilogue". Contrasted with the strong practical orientation, Hegel, from the beginning to the end, chooses to go the opposite way. He fixes his radical purpose of philosophy on understanding the rationality of thing itself, but not on remolding the world according to a transcendental ideal. Exactly due to this metaphysical character, Hegel’s philosophy quickly diminished to be a public enemy. Through reverse the relation between theory and practice, Young Hegelians attempts to deconstruction Hegel’s philosophy by put practice into priority. Whereas actually, opposing theory to practice is the product of modern subjective philosophy, so Young Hegelians are hardly able to understand the profound meaning of Hegel’s philosophy, but much worse, fall into the trap of reflective philosophy of subjectivity which Hegel had ever criticized in his early years. As for Hegel, true metaphysics, as knowledge of being, is a kind of practice and freedom in a more original way, but those philosophies which oriented to practice probably still explain world according to its own one-sided subjectivity. Or, what now ought to do is watching and contemplating the reason which is realizing itself in the world, and let the owl of Minerva can begin her flight with the falling of the dusk.
|
PDF Full Text Request