Hegelio etika : mokomasis-metodinis leidinys

Abstract

This course on Hegel’s ethics is designed for students of moral philosophy. It consists of seven lectures and one seminar. The course starts with a short review of Hegel’s life and work. It continues with an analysis of the main topics of his philosophy. The main attention is focused on his philosophy of morals. Hegel considers the ethical concepts of freedom, goodness, justice and standards of social ethics (Sittlichkeit), and shows that their content is not constant but depends on the development of the consciousness. The concept of freedom starts with a formal right that is characterized as an immediate existence of will. Individual conduct is subjected to external power. Hegel argues that the will is free when it is externally unrestricted but limits itself by means of reason. In his ethics he makes the distinction between subjective and social morality. Subjective morality is considered as personal conviction and conduct which corresponds to it. Here the convictions concerning good and evil are merely subjective. He performs his duties and acts according to his understanding of justice 59 while pursuing the common good or welfare. Hegel thinks that the Kantian principle of duty for duty’s sake is devoid of content. He insists that the satisfaction of needs, wishes, desires and passions are not necessarily contrary to ethically relevant conduct. Personal wishes must be evaluated from the point of view of common interests. Real conformity of individual and common interests is a characteristic of social ethics. According to Hegel, the general principles of conduct constitute the basis of personal freedom. They reflect the world’s rational order; therefore, the free will has to act according to them. The course continues with an analysis of special issues in ethics, such as family ethics and professional ethics for civil servants.[...]