Hegelianism summary

Hegelianism , Diversified philosophical movement that developed out of G. W. F. Hegel’s system of thought. Four stages can be distinguished. The first consists of the Hegelian school in Germany in the period 1827–50. The school divided into three currents. The right, or “Old Hegelians,” sought to uphold Hegelianism’s compatibility with evangelical orthodoxy and conservative political policies. The left, or “Young Hegelians,” interpreted Hegel’s identification of the rational with the real in a revolutionary sense. The center preferred to fall back on interpretations of the Hegelian system in its genesis and significance. In the second phase (1850–1904), usually called Neo-Hegelian, the works of the center played a preponderant role. After Wilhelm Dilthey discovered unpublished papers from Hegel’s youth in the early 20th century, there arose in Germany yet another movement; this third phase, the Hegel renaissance, stressed the reconstruction of the genesis of Hegel’s thought. In the fourth stage, after World War II, the revival of Marxist studies in Europe finally thrust into the foreground the value of the Hegelian heritage for Marxism.