G.W.F. Hegel is considered one of the greatest philosophers of all time. His book, which I will examine from a philosophical perspective, is regarded as one of the most influential books of the nineteenth century, among a dozen or so. It also serves as an introduction to his philosophical system.
Hegel clarifies his conception of the philosophical world history. His view of becoming was always something that helped Hegel in forming his system. It was something that opened the way for him in studying things.
His view of the evolution of things is that history is like a river. Its flow begins in the East, which represents the childhood of humanity, then passes to the Greek world, which is the adolescence, and to the modern world, the German realm, reaching up to Napoleon, representing mature, adult age.
This evolution symbolizes progress in the consciousness of freedom (der Fortschritt im Bewusstsein der Freiheit). Hegel understands that great, world-historical figures, such as Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar, seem in history to follow their own ideas, but in truth, they realize much broader and more general notions.
Hegel's historical dialectic shows progress in the consciousness of freedom, and Hegel is one of the few philosophers who make history a tool of their thought. The historical essence of Hegelian history results in the development of freedom itself. I want to further examine the essence of this progress in freedom.
