Hegel’s Theory of War
From Right-Philosophical Realism to the Historical-Philosophical Outlook
Abstract
Hegel is neither a worshiper of the war nor remains a realist who sees right-philosophically in its inescapability. This paper seeks to explain, in the light of his philosophy of history, the reasonable necessity of overcoming the war. According to Hegel, war, if inevitable, is desirable only as separate from the civic spheres and without personal hatred, but it has right-philosophically the significance of being the ethical moment in realizing the ideality of state unity. But this realization must also be based, in international relation, on the principle eligibility of the universal world spirit. This paper intends to show that the intellectual struggle for such eligibility leads to the search for an abstract, limited war without physical annihilation.
Keywords
Hegel | war | philosophy of right | philosophy of history | the ethical moment | war-overcoming | Hegel | Krieg | Philosophie der Rechte | Geschichtsphilosophie | ethischer Moment | Kriegsbewältigung