Sittlichkeit
Encyclopedia
Sittlichkeit refers to the concept of "ethical life" furthered by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
in the Elements of the Philosophy of Right
. It is the third sphere of 'right' that he establishes, and is marked by family life, civil society, and the state. It attempts to bridge individual subjective feelings and the concept of general rights.
To properly comprehend the third sphere, that is Sittlichkeit, one must first review its counterparts which are the two former spheres. The first of the two, the sphere of Right, constitutes what Hegel would call negative freedom, which is to say, freedom ascertained through the denial of outside impetus. The eventual problem, or limitation, of this kind of freedom is made evident when one considers volition without duty - without any real impetus, pulse, drive. The second sphere constitutes Kantian morality, and is therefore called Morality. Given that the purpose of Hegel's philosophy is to provide a critique of his modern day Spirit (Geist, Mind), he criticizes the deployment of Kantian morality in society for being insufficient. He explains this deficiency through pathologies of loneliness, depression and agony - which he considers to be the empirical grounding behind his writing. To properly understand the movement from these two first spheres to the last, one must also understand to solipsist approach the aforementioned two spheres present, treating the phenomena as if it were atomic. This particularity is what pushes Hegel to assess that he is synthesizing these two spheres and surpassing them in his third sphere of Ethical life.
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel was a German philosopher, one of the creators of German Idealism. His historicist and idealist account of reality as a whole revolutionized European philosophy and was an important precursor to Continental philosophy and Marxism.Hegel developed a comprehensive...
in the Elements of the Philosophy of Right
Elements of the Philosophy of Right
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel's Elements of the Philosophy of Right was published in 1820, though the book's original title page dates it to 1821...
. It is the third sphere of 'right' that he establishes, and is marked by family life, civil society, and the state. It attempts to bridge individual subjective feelings and the concept of general rights.
To properly comprehend the third sphere, that is Sittlichkeit, one must first review its counterparts which are the two former spheres. The first of the two, the sphere of Right, constitutes what Hegel would call negative freedom, which is to say, freedom ascertained through the denial of outside impetus. The eventual problem, or limitation, of this kind of freedom is made evident when one considers volition without duty - without any real impetus, pulse, drive. The second sphere constitutes Kantian morality, and is therefore called Morality. Given that the purpose of Hegel's philosophy is to provide a critique of his modern day Spirit (Geist, Mind), he criticizes the deployment of Kantian morality in society for being insufficient. He explains this deficiency through pathologies of loneliness, depression and agony - which he considers to be the empirical grounding behind his writing. To properly understand the movement from these two first spheres to the last, one must also understand to solipsist approach the aforementioned two spheres present, treating the phenomena as if it were atomic. This particularity is what pushes Hegel to assess that he is synthesizing these two spheres and surpassing them in his third sphere of Ethical life.
- In family, the individual finds its first place, as part of a group via love. Within this system there is an emphasis on marriage and education. Although Hegel endorses a semi-traditional role of men in this society, he otherwise supported equality of the sexes.