Final Essay for a Government course that analyzed Georg Hegel's Philosophy of Right in an effort to understand human drives and interactions in a variety of spheres.
Original Title
Love for family and economic exchanges for capitalist markets; the required attitudes?
Final Essay for a Government course that analyzed Georg Hegel's Philosophy of Right in an effort to understand human drives and interactions in a variety of spheres.
Final Essay for a Government course that analyzed Georg Hegel's Philosophy of Right in an effort to understand human drives and interactions in a variety of spheres.
1 Love for family and economic exchanges for capitalist markets; the required attitudes? Hegel argues in the Philosophy of Right that there are three spheres that characterize modern society, that of the Family, Civil Society and the State. Each of these spheres include different interactions, practices and values, but as a person advances from one sphere to the other they become closer to the freedom of the will, which is in Hegels eyes the ultimate goal and what humans are in the world for. Each of the spheres have certain languages and interactions that are individual for them and each person must strive to learn and know how to communicate and speak the language effectively in order to develop oneself in said sphere and be free in them. In his analysis of the Philosophy of Right, Honneth believes that these interactions are constantly been practiced and learned by people, and it is after they have properly mastered them that they attain true freedom. To properly understand Honneths argument of Hegels view on modern society one must analyze the interactions in each sphere.
Family according to Hegel is a place where a person attains its self-consciousness through a relationship with another person of the opposite sex. It is here that a person gives the first step towards the goal of freedom of the will. It is where unity and emotion brings a sense of interdependence. Yet this interdependence communicates through the language of mutual affection and sentiment, where the end is to know ones self as the unity of myself with another and of the other with me (Hegel, 158). To be able to reach this mutual interdependence, that is, to form a family in is basic notions, one must be able Jesus G Lopez Lozano 05/06/14 Jgl679 GOV 335M Prompt 4 Professor Gregg
2 to speak the language necessary to do so, because if one does not have the ability to communicate with the same objective then it will present impossible to be able to be free at this level. As Honneth argues in his analysis of Hegel, [] participation in family life require[s] learning a language game marked by effect (Honneth, 74). It is the language of love that gives a person the ability to form a family. As easy as this may sound, it is not an easy task, which is why people who desire to form a family only do so at the developed age of middle 20s. Learning that [t]he first moment in love is that I do not wish to be an independent person in my own right and that, if I were, I would feel deficient and incomplete (Hegel, 158) is a mindset that is not apparent at first. The language of love requires certain aspects; commitment, faith, tenderness, comprehension, care, and above all respect. These qualities are those that a person must strive to have in order to be ready to commit to a family. A person that values the language of love will be able to understand when someone is passing through a difficult time and be there to help, not disregard and wave off as some strange attitude. Another way to understand the way that the language of love works is by comparing it to the way that people used to marry in the middle ages, when kingdoms prevailed. At this point in time people married and decided to form a family because of political benefits and agreements between nations that would form to seal an alliance. This form of family does not speak the language of love, this is why many of these families had troubles in the household that came in the form of mistress and dominance from one side or another. The lack of the values created a vertical dependence rather than interdependence. The language of mutual love grows from the feeling that without the other person one would not be able to participate in the civil society and the world with enough motivation and strength to be free. One must be Jesus G Lopez Lozano 05/06/14 Jgl679 GOV 335M Prompt 4 Professor Gregg
3 willing to have moments where total dedication is placed on the family, and when children arrive it is the duty of the family to provide them with food and a household that will see them grow. Further it is the responsibility of the family to provide them with education. One can understand the practices appropriate for the family in two ways, the care and love of children and their bringing up and the respect and love towards the person one chooses to stand beside them forever.
The market is a completely different sphere where the interactions happen because of the necessity to satisfy a need. Here economic exchanges prevail where goods are produced and shared with two ends; to be compensated or to obtain something. As Hegel states, In civil society, each individual is his own end and all else means nothing to him. But he cannot accomplish the full extend of his ends without reference to others; these others are therefore means to an end of the particular person (Hegel, 182). It can be understood from this that a market is formed where for one to gain satisfaction he must simultaneously satisfy the welfare of others. It is interesting to note that the practices that are used in the market are all interconnected and build on each other. The very core practice of the market involves the exchange of economic goods, but in order to be able to do so there first must be a production of said economic goods, which are fruits of labor produced by those agents that decide to enter the sphere of civil society. Furthermore, once these exchanges start to flourish the next step towards a sustainable market involves mutually beneficial agreements that aim to provide a constant out stream and inflow of goods. Efficiency and productivity are two key aspects that are crucial in the language of Jesus G Lopez Lozano 05/06/14 Jgl679 GOV 335M Prompt 4 Professor Gregg
4 the market for it to be economically profitable and thus fruitful for the agents involved. To put things in context, one example that brings all of these practices together is that of a producer of computers. For this agent to be productive in the market it is important that he manufactures the product at a better cost than his opponent or at a similar cost, then have an efficient and reliable way to transport the economic goods from manufacture to client with a good marketing standpoint so the agent that is engaging in this economic exchange is convinced that it is the best transaction that they can do. This is just a simple example and other more complex examples that take into account labor interactions and manufacturing capabilities can be made, but for simplicity the aforementioned example is appropriate. The skills necessary to be able to interact in the level of the market involve the understanding of the market, from the basic functionality of complex market dynamics, to basic interactions with clients, rational thinking and of course, excellent work ethics.
Honneth characterizes the acquisition of each of these two languages as a learning process. [] (I)n both cases (family and civil society) it is the participation in the respective practices that makes it possible to undergo the necessary learning processes and to learn the corresponding skills (Honneth, 74). One can interpret from this passage that Honneth believes that one is not fully able to speak the language of either the family or civil society from the moment one is born, rather it is a complete process that stems form the education one receives as a family and is practiced as one grows and gets further and further involved in civil society, until a point in time is reached that they are able to Jesus G Lopez Lozano 05/06/14 Jgl679 GOV 335M Prompt 4 Professor Gregg
5 form a family. It is at this point that they proceed to further develop in civil society and it is until they understand the whole mechanics of the capitalist market that they have truly mastered the skills and the language of both spheres. It is a process that takes time and must be done the right way, because if a person is not truly educated in the language of either the family or the market, one will attain freedom in either sphere. The learning process truly liberates an individual as they learn from this that they must remain true to themselves and not loose their individuality. Whats more, the process is liberating because it is through it that corrections to conducts that are not in harmony with the proper interactions in the spheres are made. This is best exemplified with a person that marries at a tender age with the idea that it is only love that reigns the family and finds out that it is not only mutual love and affection, but respect, interdependence and other values that are necessary to make it work. This person made a mistake, but the sphere of the family corrected this mistake and made him realize that he was not free and true to himself, and one would hope that after this the next time he decides to form a family it would be through a correct interdependence. Hegel talks briefly about this in the following passage [] the uneducated man can easily cause offense for he simply lets himself go and does not reflect on the feelings of others. He does not wish to hurt others, but his conduct is not in harmony with his will (Hegel, 187). Here Hegel puts perfectly in context this learning process, as he states that a person does not wish to hurt others or to harm the interactions of a particular sphere, but he still does because he is not speaking the same language as those that are interacting in said sphere. It is through the learning process that Honneth describes that ones conduct is corrected and reaches the harmony with ones will that is the true essence of the family and civil society. Jesus G Lopez Lozano 05/06/14 Jgl679 GOV 335M Prompt 4 Professor Gregg
6 In his reflections Hegel talks about the true path towards the freedom of the will. He sees family as the starting point, followed by civil society and ending in the state. It is the transition from one sphere to another that brings freedom to a person, but he also reflects that certain attitudes and characteristics of those who participate in these spheres are needed for them to be able to truly attain this. The family speaks the language of mutual love and affection, of respect, loyalty and interdependence. All of these without loosing the sense of oneself and one's individuality. In the family, the practices involved are those of provision of goods, of education, of comprehension and guidance. It is this need to provide that one transitions from family to civil society, where the capitalist markets prevail and economic exchanges are made. In this sphere, practices of mutually beneficial agreements are found, where rational thinking, strong work ethic and the understanding of the market are required skills for one to have a fruitful development in it. Furthermore, one cannot only take from the market but must also produce and provide so others can also satisfy their needs. Finally, the acquisition and practice of these attitudes and skills are not something that one is born with and can easily apply at will. Rather these languages are acquired through a continuous learning process, one that starts from birth and stems until mastery, where trial and error prevail and the forces of the family or civil spheres correct the deficiencies one can have. It is through this learning process that one is really liberated because the true, meaningful and required interaction with each sphere is made and one is able to maintain its essence and individuality as they interact in one sphere on another. Hegel thought of this as correcting conducts that are not in harmony with ones will. Only by completing this learning process one is truly free.