Considered by some the best introduction to and explication of the thought of German Idealist philosopher GEORG WILHELM FRIEDRICH HEGEL (17701831), this 1896 translation by SAMUEL WATERS DYDE (b. 1862) of the philosophers great 1821 work offers a succinct but comprehensive discussion of concepts of free will. A philosophical disciple of Kant, Hegel saw that free will could exist only within the larger context of human life: of family, of work, of legality and moralityhuman freedom, Hegel believed could not exist in a vacuum but only via an individuals interactions with the social networks of humanity. Hegels understanding of the individuals impact on such grand canvases as history itself exerted an unparalleled influence on German philosophy throughout the 19th century, including upon Karl Marx and his Communist Manifesto. Philosophy of Right, then, deserves a place in the essential library of anyone wishing to understand modern political thinking.

Complete and unabridged, this edition of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel's 1821 classic offers a comprehensive view of the philosopher's influential system. In the "Philosophy of Right, " Hegel applies his most important concept -- the dialectics -- to law, rights, morality, the family, economics, and the state. The last of Hegel's works to be published in his lifetime, this volume combines moral and political philosophy to form a sociologic view dominated by the idea of the state. Hegel defines universal right as the synthesis between the thesis of an individual acting in accordance with the law and the occasional conflict of an antithetical desire to follow private convictions. The state, he declares, must permit individuals to satisfy both demands, thereby realizing social harmony and prosperity--the perfect synthesis. Further, Hegel renounces his formerly favorable assessment of the French Revolution and rejects the republican form of government, suggesting instead an idealized form of a constitutional monarchy, in which ultimate power rests with the sovereign.

Considered by some the best introduction to and explication of the thought of German Idealist philosopher GEORG WILHELM FRIEDRICH HEGEL (17701831), this 1896 translation by SAMUEL WATERS DYDE (b. 1862) of the philosophers great 1821 work offers a succinct but comprehensive discussion of concepts of free will. A philosophical disciple of Kant, Hegel saw that free will could exist only within the larger context of human life: of family, of work, of legality and moralityhuman freedom, Hegel believed could not exist in a vacuum but only via an individuals interactions with the social networks of humanity. Hegels understanding of the individuals impact on such grand canvases as history itself exerted an unparalleled influence on German philosophy throughout the 19th century, including upon Karl Marx and his Communist Manifesto. Philosophy of Right, then, deserves a place in the essential library of anyone wishing to understand modern political thinking.