Hegel's Philosophy of Mind — Georg Hegel — John Shaqi
Hegel's Philosophy of Mind
Georg Hegel · en
Nor, on the other hand, can it turn itself too directly and intently
towards practical applications. All this theory of mental progress from
the animate soul to the fullness of religion and science deals solely with
the universal process of education: “the education of humanity” we may
call it: the way in which mind is made true and real(46). It is therefore
a question of intricacy and of time how to carry over this general theory
into the arena of education as artificially directed and planned. To try
to do so at a single step would be to repeat the mistake of Plato, if
Plato may be taken to suppose (which seems incredible) that a theoretical
study of the dialectics of truth and goodness would enable his rulers,
without the training of special experience, to undertake the supreme tasks
of legislation or administration. All politics, like all education, rests
on these principles of the means and conditions of mental growth: but the
schooling of concrete life, though it may not develop the faculty of
formulating general laws, will often train better for the management of
the relative than a mere logical Scholastic in first or absolute
principles.
In conclusion, there are one or two points which seem of cardinal
importance for the progress of psychology. (1) Its difference from the
physical sciences has to be set out: in other words, the peculiarity of
psychical fact. It will not do merely to say that experience marks out
these boundaries with sufficient clearness. On the contrary, the terms
consciousness, feeling, mind, &c., are evidently to many psychologists
mere names. In particular, the habits of physical research when introduced
into mental study lead to a good deal of what can only be called
mythology. (2) There should be a clearer recognition of the problem of the
relations of mental unity to mental elements. But to get that, a more
thorough logical and metaphysical preparation is needed than is usually
supposed necessary. The doctrine of identity and necessity, of universal
and individual, has to be faced, however tedious. (3) The distinction
between first-grade and second-grade elements and factors in the mental
life has to be realised. The mere idea as presentative or immediate has to
be kept clear of the more logico-reflective, or normative ideas, which
belong to judgment and reasoning. And the number of these grades in mental
development seems endless. (4) But, also, a separation is required—were it
but temporary—between what may be called principles, and what is detail.
At present, in psychology, “principles” is a word almost without meaning.
A complete all-explaining system is of course impossible at present and
may always be so. Yet if an effort of thought could be concentrated on
cardinal issues, and less padding of conventional and traditional detail
were foisted in, much might thereby be done to make detailed research
fruitful. (5) And finally, perhaps, if psychology be a philosophical