This paper aims to present the meaning of the Hegelian conception of rational State, based on a comparative reading of the Science of Logic and the Philosophy of Right. In this way, the specificity of the State’s rational aspect appears through the comprehension of the concepts of reality, actuality, understanding, dialectical reason and speculative reason, from its logical meanings to its enlargement toward the extent of objective spirit. The systematic comprehension of this central aspect of Hegel’s ethical State may contribute (...) with the researches in political philosophy and philosophy of right, since it highlights the role of institutions in the mediation between individual consciousness and legal, social and political instances, which is proper of Hegel’s concept of reason. (shrink)

The two objectives of this text are: to offer a general exposition on the originality of the Phenomenology of the Spirit of Hegel in the trajectory of German Idealism, and to outline a more specific presentation on the role of the last chapter of this work, dedicated to “absolute knowledge”, in the argumentative strategy of that science of the experience of conscience. The meaning and role of the concept of Absolute in Hegel and its historical development is studied, especially from (...) its difference with Schelling’s philosophy. (shrink)