Hegel and the Whiggish History | Historiography Shorts 7

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel was kind of the figurehead of many romantic philosophers who theorized a way of understanding what the spirit of the times is or was, also known as the zeitgeist. A status quo gave rise to its opposition, eventually resolving into a new norm that incorporated both. This is called the hegelian dialectic, where you have a thesis, antithesis, and synthesis. So the French Revolution was merely the rise of an opposition to aristocracy, resolving with Napoleon taking on the role of both. This dialectic was the zeitgeist, and the nation-state was the ultimate destination. Historians who use this theory believe that history is always progressing, that the zeitgeist is always improving, and the arrow of history points toward liberal democracy. More civil rights, scientific advancement, technological improvements, and increasing nation-states around the world reinforce this view of perpetual progress. They are called “whigs,” though I rather like the term “chronological snobbery,” for whig historians are rather presumptive of what is good. Historiography Shorts playlist: /playlist/PLjnwpaclU4wXi3h9O4E0a0ZVPGYxAuUTy ------------------------------------------------------------ Hegel's books: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/author/2161 ------------------------------------------------------------ SUBSCRIBE FOR MORE VIDEOS: /user/CynicalCypher88 Support the channel through PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/CynicalHistorian or by purchasing MERCH: https://teespring.com/stores/the-cynical-historian LET'S CONNECT: Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/cynicalhistorian Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cynicalcypher88 Subreddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/CynicalHistory/ Discord: https://discord.gg/Ukthk4U Twitter: https://twitter.com/Cynical_History

الفئة