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a philosophical movement or system having various forms, but generally stressing practical consequences as constituting the essential criterion in determining meaning, truth, or value. I seem to recall Hegel's though gave birth to pragmatism. http://gyral.blackshell.com/hegel/
Hegel's influence on the thought of Karl Marx can not be ignored. Marx borrowed Hegel's dialectic, dropped the idealism, threw in a healthy measure of materialism, and called himself a communist. No Marxist or materialistic historian can ignore Hegel's dialectic and his interpretation of world history. Ironically, though Hegel's thought was generally regarded as a powerful attack on materialism, his greatest student eventually became the Western world's most famous materialist.
Hegel's thought had other important effects, even in America, the land where British empiricism planted its flag on firmest ground. For instance, Hegel's thought opened the path towards pragmatism, progressivism, and relativism. William James borrowed heavily from the work of the German idealists to construct an American intellectual tradition that he labelled "Pragmatism" (not to be confused with either pragmatism nor Charles Peirce's "Pragmaticism"). John Dewey began his ever-evolving philosophical career as a Hegelian, and other Progressives were especially influenced by Hegel's emphasis on the training of the mind through education. Finally, Hegel's emphasis on the individual and even the Absolute as a constantly evolving process, continually subjected to the influence of external as well as internal forces, became a starting poing for relativism.
Hegel's thought was also crucial in sparking a revolution in American educational policy. The "Kindergarten Movement" and John Dewey's Democracy and Education are only two examples of the accomplishments American Hegelians made in the field of education.
Thus, Hegel's influence in America has been overwhelming, although we often lose sight of his original, though admittedly peculiar, philosophy. Although students of Hegel often complain of his lengthy digressions into incomprehensiblity, his thought has played a major role in how we study history. Hegel's dialectic was a major influence behind Marx's influential brand of socialism. Without Hegel, pragmatism, progressivism, and relativism may never have become popular philosophical systems. Hegel's emphasis on the mind and the need for human interaction in order to achieve true "selfhood" led to a revolution in American educational policy.
Hegel was so potent! Just...Wow! |
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