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Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel: Individuals
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At seminary, Hegel was exposed to rational theology against which he reacted in his posthumously published, Early Theological Writings. For Hegel, religion has a crucial influence on the character of a culture. When he examined the Christian church of his time, he found it to have a negative effect. Christianity seemed to be little more than a collection of creeds, rituals and dogmas. This religion, which was imposed upon individuals, did not arise from the people’s experience and was therefore alien and irrelevant. Using his terms, it was a religion of understanding, not reason.
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Hegel describes the philosophical journey of individuals as both a ladder and a series of circles. One might conclude the journey of a philosophy student is like climbing a spiral staircase, each level depending upon the previous. Not only does each individual build upon past knowledge, but so does the greater mass of humanity. Each generation of philosophers learns from the previous. Much of this learning occurs in dialectic, according to Hegel, though philosophers might not have recognized the process earlier.
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Aside from Hegel's dense and difficult style his work is perplexing for modern audiences because he had an organic and teleological view of human society. This view is in direct opposition to the conceptions of individual rights and existentialism which most modern-day intellectuals take for granted.
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