Hegelian Idealism's Influence over the Development of Continental Existentialism and Phenomenology

Written by: Kelly L. Hunter

Absolute Idealism has left a lasting impression on Westernized culture. Due to the great influence that Hegelian Idealism had over the historical development of Continental Philosophy’s theories concerning existentialism and phenomenology, philosophical thought suddenly began to spread rapidly throughout different parts of the world and has developed into what we know of it today. It was Hegel along with Johann Gottlieb Fichte and Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph von Schelling who first introduced German Absolute Idealism as a response to Kant’s theories.
Kant believed that knowledge of experience was determined by the different categories that one’s mind imposes on objects of experience (Moore and Bruder, 2005). Hegel on the other hand believed that the history of the cosmos were the essential expression of thought. “Absolute Idealism, as this philosophy is called, attempted to achieve a complete and unified conception of all reality, a conception that gave meaning to each and every aspect in relationship to the sum total” (Moore and Bruder, 2005, p 143).
Georg Hegel was not admired by all and in fact was called a revolting charlatan as well as unintelligent and disgusting by Arthur Schopenhauer during some point in his career. Hegel often found himself with little admirers and in one instance gave a speech to a vacant lecture hall. It was actually Marxism that started off as a sort of branch-off or subsidiary of Absolute Idealism during the 19th and 20th centuries which began the transgression toward the more contemporary Continental Philosophy’s like existentialism and phenomenology.
Much like Hegel, Marx found himself faced with opposing theories from fellow philosophers and colleagues. Bertrand Russell was quoted as saying that “Marx is nothing more than Hegel mixed with British economic theory” (Moore and Bruder, 2005, p 159). Moore and Bruder (2005) attribute much of post-Hegel philosophies to the actual response that individuals had to Hegel’s theories. It was during this time that the response to Hegel’s philosophical theories transformed into various other forms in English speaking countries as well as in Europe.
This transformation caused a separation or split between philosophies during the 20th century. Much like a domino effect, these events led to the introduction and predominance of what was said to be analytic philosophy in England; which eventually found its way to the United States and other English speaking countries, where it gained popularity as well. “The response to Hegelian idealism on the European continent was quite different, however, and is known (at least in English-speaking countries) as Continental philosophy” (Moore and Bruder, 2005, p 159-160).
Existentialism and phenomenology are just two branches of Continental philosophy; however, they are two of the most influential elements of this particular school of thought. It has been said that both of these deep-rooted philosophical themes can be traced back as far as Pre-Socratic times. These two schools of thought have had enormous amounts of influence over one another. It has been said that the influence was so grand, it brought together two of philosophy’s most influential Continental philosophers, Martin Heidegger (a phenomenologist) and Jean-Paul Sartre (an existentialist).
Principle issues surrounding existentialism focus on the following: academic and traditional philosophies are considered to be lame and off-base from real life concerns; philosophy must focus on the individual’s experiences and struggles in the world; the world is far to complex to be understood by the mind through philosophical debate; the world is considered to be absurd due to the fact that no explanation can be accurately given as to why things are as the are; “Senselessness, emptiness, triviality, separation, and inability to communicate pervade human existence, giving birth to anxiety, dread, self-doubt, and despair” (Moore and Bruder, 2005, p 160); and it is a choice for the individual as to how they will live their life in a world that is considered to be absurd and irrational.
Soren Kierkegaard disagreed with Hegel on many levels and believed that it was important for humans to make their own choices in life thus leading to a life full of significant meaning and experience. According to Moore and Bruder (2005), Kierkegaard believed that “Philosophy must speak to the anguished existence of the individual who lives in an irrational world and who must make important decisions in that world” (p 161). Kierkegaard was not alone; a man by the name of Friedrich Nietzsche became convinced that the world was ruled by sheer cosmic will and not by way of reason. Nietzsche too argued Hegel’s philosophies and idealism and anything remotely close to such ideals.
Nietzsche’s philosophies focused on the “will-to-power” and he believed that most people were miserable in their lives. It has been said that Nietzsche’s work was extremely influential to the Continental philosophies of that time. Nietzsche did not believe in such things as absolute truth or facts and instead believed that the world is full of uncertainties and only interpretations of events were real. Philosophy was not the only thing being influenced by these schools of thought during this time; art, music, and literature were also dramatically changing.
Men like Albert Camus and Jean-Paul Sartre not only wrote different pieces of literary works as well as political tracts, they were also highly respected philosophers during this time period. These two men are considered to be two of the most influential philosophers of existentialism. Camus and Sartre were not alone in their leadership of existentialism; other greats like Marcel, Jaspers, and Heidegger to name only a few also contributed substantially to this era.
Phenomenology was introduced into philosophy by Edmund Husserl and is said to be used more by philosophers than artists and writers who mainly studied existentialism. As stated by Moore and Bruder (2005), “In brief, phenomenology interests itself in the essential structures found within the stream of conscious experience—the stream of phenomena—as these structures manifest themselves independently of the assumptions and presuppositions of science” (p 174).
There were many key contributors to the introduction of phenomenology throughout different parts of the world. Emmanuel Levinas is said to be solely responsible introducing this school of thought into France. Levinas studied the works of Husserl and Heidengger extensively and tried very hard to break free from the stranglehold of Being. He tried to develop a philosophy that was rooted in the idea of otherness and separateness (Moore and Bruder, 2005).
Many philosophers have been attributed to shaping philosophical schools of thought into many different directions. History shows that all of these individuals helped influence Continental philosophy into what it has become today. Existentialism and phenomenology are only two of the branches on the philosophical tree. Many philosophers agree that these two forms or themes of philosophy were amongst the most influential of all.




Reference

Moore and Bruder, “Philosophy: The Power of Ideas, The McGraw-Hill Companies, (2005), (6th ed.).