Sittlichkeit
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Sittlichkeit is the concept of "ethical life" or "ethical order" furthered by German philosopher
The three spheres of right
In Elements of the Philosophy of Right, Hegel introduces the sphere of abstract right
The second sphere constitutes
The third sphere, the sphere of ethical life[3] (Sittlichkeit),[11][12][13] is marked by family life, civil society, and the authoritarian State.[14][15] This right is traditionally associated with conservatism.[16]
To properly understand the movement from the two first spheres to the last, one must understand that Sittlichkeit's normativity transcends the individual—while Moralität may be rational and reflective,[1] it is also individualistic. The third sphere is an attempt at describing a limited conception of the person through an appeal to the greater institutional context of the community[17] and an attempt at bridging individual subjective feelings and the concept of general rights.
Influence
Later German thinkers developed the idea in various directions such as the liberal Carl Theodor Welcker, the conservative Friedrich Julius Stahl, and the socialist Wilhelm Weitling. Welcker connected the idea to constitutional liberties. Stahl related it to a hierarchical godly order. However, Weitling rejected it as oppressive and believed that socialists must work to destroy it.[18] Conservative philosopher Roger Scruton called it a highly original and metaphysically fascinating version of the conservative answer to liberalism.[19]
Notes
- ^ a b Philip J. Kain, Marx and Modern Political Theory: From Hobbes to Contemporary Feminism, Rowman & Littlefield, 1993, p. 128.
- ^ Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Phenomenology of Spirit, Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 1998, p. 266.
- ^ a b Mark Alznauer, Hegel's Theory of Responsibility, Cambridge University Press, 2015, p. 6.
- ^ PR §37
- ^ David James, Hegel: A Guide for the Perplexed, Continuum, 2007, p. 35.
- ^ David James, Hegel: A Guide for the Perplexed, Continuum, 2007, p. 37.
- ^ a b David James, Hegel: A Guide for the Perplexed, Continuum, 2007, p. 45.
- positive freedom [in PR §149A]".
- ^ Carter, Ian (January 24, 2023). Zalta, Edward N. (ed.). The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University – via Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
- ^ PR §106
- ^ PR §145
- ^ PR §150
- ^ PR §153
- ^ Z. A. Pelczynski (ed.), The State and Civil Society: Studies in Hegel's Political Philosophy, Cambridge University Press, 1984, p. 9.
- ^ Alan Patten, Hegel's Idea of Freedom, Oxford University Press, 1999, p. 25.
- ^ Hamilton, Andy (2015-08-01). Conservatism. Retrieved 2023-01-24.
- ^ Drucilla Cornell and Nick Friedman, The Mandate of Dignity: Ronald Dworkin, Revolutionary Constitutionalism, and the Claims of Justice, Oxford University Press, 2016, p. 119.
- ^ Anton Jansson, "Building or destroying community: the concept of Sittlichkeit in the political thought of Vormärz Germany." Global Intellectual History 5.1 (2020): 86–103. online.
- OCLC 1204173415. Retrieved 2023-01-24.
References
- David Edward Rose, Hegel's Philosophy of Right, London: Bloomsbury, 2007, ch. 7.
- Allen W. Wood, Hegel's Ethical Thought, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990, ch. 7.
- Allen W. Wood (ed.), Hegel: Elements of the Philosophy of Right, Cambridge University Press, 1991, xii–xiii.