Hegel and the Idea of Freedom

Hegel and the Idea of Freedom

Account for Freedom

Hegel accountsfor freedom as a fundamental idea and center of human history. He argues that the mind is free and requires actualization by the endeavor of the world mind in history(Franco 2002). Hegel conceptualizes freedom in various structures;Themoral concept; this is the thought that freedom is being able to give consent without being compelled into making a choice. This concept offers autonomy to liberty, where one only agrees to anything if they are willing and have their reasons for the decision with no external coercion whatsoever.

The concept of spirituality; Hegel states that spirituality results in freedom, or conversely, being spiritual is life so far as it has autonomy for principle. He accounts for this concept as a scene that brings absolute freedom.It is a mode of self-consciousness which explains that essential being and concrete actuality consist of the knowledge consciousness has of itself. Therefore, it has the absolute freedom to learn and carry out other activities.

Concept of civil society,Hegel believes thatpeople of particular country or community only enjoy freedom if they take part in political activities and engage in the political livelihood of their particular societal set up by their actions like not words. He further states that this is a form of freedom with self-centered and private objectives referring to the end of the Hellenic era and its institutionalization in civil law in the times of the Roman Empire’s end of a period. This concept was not viewed as freedom by the ancients. In the modern state, it is the idea of freedom.Freedom from the civil society perspective creates interdependence amongst people of the society by promoting individuality while satisfying the needs of others indirectly and expanding new social bonds..

The concept of naturality. Hegel explains freedom as a natural force that cannot be refrained from happening(Neuhouser&Neuhouser 2009). He argues that human freedom is only possible where nature is well understood as a tool in thought and action, thus self-conscious life emergences from it. Humans most instances do not appreciate their surroundings and concepts involved in life; therefore, it is prudent for them to be allowed the freedom to explore the systems of life and different new issues that emerge from time to time. Hegel intends to verifythat democracy is the product of human nature and that humans should be free to explore life because it is illogical to restrict a natural situation. It is inhuman order to learn and understand concepts of the world so that they can quickly solve emerging and existing problems of society.

Philosophy of right; Hegel conceives freedom as the process and system of free practice with the protection of laws. People are allowed to engage in activities, own property, and even make individual decisions because it is their right. Philosophy of right guarantees an individual’s protection by the law, and they can participate in activities like voting, travel, invest and face no hindrances because it is their right as defined in legal avenues, i.e., the constitution.

Philosophy of history; Hegel uses the concept of time to account for freedom. He states that through generations and stages, people have continued to experience liberation, dialects, civilization, and development of the world. Individuals have gone through the liberation of spirit and mind, civilized, and these are the factors that Hegel uses to conceive the freedom of people in society. These have therefore boosted people’s urge for autonomy comparing the past to their current change of state.

Realization in Modern Society

Freedom is realized in modern society through the incorporation of individual liberty in the state. For Hegel, personal freedom is attained through an individual’s advanced universal contribution (Cromphout 2004). This is when the state experiences actuality, during which the members have the self-hood feeling and stability when the private and public factors are similar; this often leads to the happiness of citizens. This gives the state a sense of harmony.

These concepts are also realized when an individual achieves the state of universality; this is when the interests of individuals relate well with those of the state. Hegel’s view of human freedom is useless without the incorporation of a political community. This way, the individualism concept of the principle of private liberty, individual freedom, and personal choices must be reconciled with political ideas without compromising the authority of the state or people’s freedom.

From the civil society point of view, freedom is conceptualized in consideration of the personal liberty of its members. Hegel describes civil society as the difference between family and state.  He argues that civil society’s creation can only happen in the modern world. Hegel states an argument for this idea regarding European culture that the framework of the community is built by putting together the ideologies of politics, economics, and social relations with the state. Without all these, he says, there is no real freedom achieved for individuals

Understanding Freedom beyond the Civil Society

For Hegel, it is essential to understand beyond freedom from in the civil society to give us the opportunity to explore the freedom from other perspectives; The economic sphere, political sphere, and sociocultural sphere. Hegel does not stop at the realm of civil society; he continues to interest us with the importance of knowing the three areas of freedom. He argues that with the concept of civil society, true human freedom is still at stake(Méndez,Hinrichs&Nacenta2017).

From an economic freedom concept, Hegel talks about property integrity. The main aspects of this concept are business, investments, and power. People can invest and gain desired economic status and financial obligations. This sphere eliminates the constraints brought by the systems and laws in the civil society and allows individuals to explore their full structural potential at horizontal and vertical directions when state and civil status are robust. This promises a more organized structureof materials, the economy and the economic relations at micro and macro levels

From the concept of politics and legality, understanding of freedom is expressed through humanity and justice, democratic legislations, pluralism, and securing rights of a person. This is realized by the possibility of ruling through trade unions, political organizations, societies, and public unions. As opposed to the conventional view that political decisions are made from parliament works, which to a particular degree, does not address the interest of certain groups in the society, Hegel’s notion of the political sphere addresses interests and rights of the smaller groups in the civil society setting. This concept of freedom allows individuals to air their ideas and implement them in the political community.

For sociocultural freedom level, Hegel talks about its effort to eliminate class privileges and favors and increasing the importance of the people. This focuses on the transfer of equally human and legal rights to every individual from being subjects to becoming citizens in society. Everybody in the state is allowed to take part in social interactions, mingle, and relate with other individuals without prejudice. The cultural life of the state is set free for an individual; no one is forced to partake in practices they are not willing and are open to practicing their cultural views like religion without hindrance from the state.

Preserving and Superseding Freedom Development through the State

These concepts of freedom in society have been preserved and superseded by principles and rules that have been formulated in the state. For economic freedom, it has been protected with five main principles; the rule of law, property rights, free trade or open markets, constitutional limitations, and healthy circulation of money. In preserving economic freedom; The practice of law is the system that enforces principles of equal protection and impartial application of the rules that give the power of making better financial choices. Free markets in the state are the principles that offer citizens incentives for new business opportunities and allows trade outside their community. Constitutional limitationsprotect its individuals by imposing a rule that bar unfair businesses to ensure prosperity in its state. Property rights is a principle that protects individuals of a country by guiding them on how resources are utilized. A sound supply of money has ensured the preservation of economic freedom by guiding on how to invest their financial support within the state. Economic freedom has also changed and developed more in the modern state due to the freedom to createinfrastructure, access resources in the society, and the freedom to own as much wealth as you can earn. Many people now engage in businesses and invest privately, creating a healthy economic environment in the modern state.

For political freedom, it has been preserved in the state by ensuring that democracy prevails and that individuals must choose for themselves what political affiliations they want to reconcile with their interests. Individuals have the free will to decide who to support in the political community, whether to vote.By supersession, Political freedom has continued to changewith time to become modern democracywhereby individuals have a vast understanding of their rights in politics. They can now voice their views and frustrations in demonstrations and debates if politics in the community is not just, secure, or accept their views. This concept has also been preserved and superseded by allowing liberty of individuals of the state.

For Sociocultural freedom,in civil society, freedom is preserved and superseded through the principle of individual liberty and personal choice in the state. Own freedom is often explained as liberalism, which beliefs in freedom of men. This principle gives individuals the right to act on their terms and conditions and take total control over what they want for themselves and control their rate of productivity. Individuals have had the liberty to make decisions on their own, bad or good, work to succeed or fail as long they do interfere with the freedom of others. This concept of liberty has experienced a lot of change over the time of modern society with the aid of the internet and social media, people have continued to interact not in their societal vicinity but has made the world a small village.

Conclusion

Hegel’s idea of freedom has been referred many times to address the philosophy of liberty. According to him, democracy is still developing and should be understood in all aspects of life and that there is still no real freedom of individuals. His concepts of freedom have been preserved in the state by his thought about absolute freedom.His ideas of democracy have been protected and been tremendously developed in modern society and are still developing. Hegel and his ideologies about freedom help answer the question of how people can have democracy in a world that is driven by established rules and regulations.

References

Neuhouser, F., &Neuhouser, F. (2009). Foundations of Hegel’s social theory: Actualizing freedom. Harvard University Press.