Philosophy and Human Values: Hegel and Modern Life

In this lecture, Roderick introduces us to Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel and his most famous student, Karl Marx. In so doing, he begins to bring the discussion of philosophy into the relevant "here and now" or everyday experience. This means that the critical appr

oach taken by Marx is directed at the modes and systems within which we work and live. This inevitably leads to a critique of how the way we work and live is a reflection of our beliefs about what is important and ultimately "true"; our ideology.

In another lecture,(not required) Slavoj Zizek argues that the unquestioned ideology of Western society is nothing short of "market, neo-liberalism", another term for the more populous "global consumer culture"; Hegel's Absolute Freedom manifested in the capitalist, liberal-democratic nation state. Note on the word "liberal"; It's use in these discussions refers to the definition as held in Europe and should not be confused with notions of "socialism" as conflated by people on the political right. Rather, it is a descriptive term related to Enlightenment values of rule of law, meritocracy, economic liberty, and individual rights.

LINK: Video & Transcript

AUDIO MP3 (Right click to download.)

Discussion Question:

• So Marx is interested in what capitalism tends to do to, or how capitalism tends to act upon members of the society at large, in the material world. To what extent is Marx's complaint that capitalism commodifes everything in a society including interpersonal relations, basic needs, and our institutions "true" or "not true"? Is he fundamentally wrong and the market, neo-liberal present state of affairs is that best that humanity can expect? Have fun and try not to take anything too personally.

Lecture Five: Hegel and Modern Life

I. Hegel was conservative.

A. The culmination of this long historical process is that history proper came to an end.

B. Right wing Hegelians took Hegel to be fundamentally right and therefore applied his method over and over.

C. To left wing Hegelians such as Marx Hegel’s is a classic text but has an ambiguous legacy.

II. Marx criticized capitalism

A. A criticism of capitalism is a criticism of Hegel because for Hegel, capitalism coupled with

liberal democracy is the highest achievement of humanity.

B. The democratic state is in contradiction with the imperatives of the capitalist economy.

1. We are used to these contradiction in our current society. This was not true in Marx’s

time.

2. The secret of capitalism is the shift in identity from what you are in a society to what you

own or have.

C. Marx identified several effects of capitalism.

1. It reduces human needs to those which can be bought and sold in the market

place.

2. It produces from nature more technological abilities than in all of

history.

3. These come into contradiction because of the imperative of the economy to make a profit and to fulfill nil these new needs.

III. Marx’s ideology:

A. If you really want to know how someone thinks, look at their surroundings. This outlook,

“materialism,” criticized ideas by examining.

B. Moral or philosophical dilemnas must be understood in terms of being different for different

classes.

C. There is a difference between a theoretical approach and an approach rooted in daily life.

D. You must not let your life be reduced to poverty or work.

E. Before moral problems arise, there are preconditions for human life that have to be fulfilled such as food, shelter, health care and freedom to pursue other goals besides work.