On the site of the limo of doom
https://cyberianz.blogspot.com/2018/10/where-20-people-died.html
I have finished Walter Kaufmann's Hegel: A reinterpretation (Anchor Books edition 1966) and can only marvel at Kaufmann's masterful, but succinct forensics. Kaufmann does not cover all the major controversies, but he does provide penetrating insight.
Of course, what we have is one brilliant but dark mind illuminating the work of another brilliant but dark mind. Though Hegel styled himself a Protestant philosopher/theologian, in fact he did not really believe the essential Christian doctrines. His idea of God was that of a cosmic force which fulfills itself via man. The German professor has had a substantial impact on the history of ideas, not only by being a precursor to Marxism but by the fact that he provoked a number of repudiations.
Hegel's works are long and obscure and I am in no rush to read them, but I am interested in the impact he had on 19th and 20th century thinkers. I would say that he was an 18th century scientifically minded young man who eventually wrote a book, The Phenomenology of Spirit, that appealed to a number of German intellectuals because it camouflaged a form of atheism, or at least strong doubt in Christian dogma. Though Hegel repudiated the atheistic Enlightenment, he was, I believe, swept along in that tide. Today, I would say, Hegelianism is reflected in the liberal humanism of some Protestant denominations (though later in life Hegel was politically conservative).
Having read several other books on Hegel, I am prepared to say that I doubt that his philosophy would satisfy me, and the reason: I don't get the impression he has dealt sufficiently with the reality of death.
You may say, "Of course, at your age, you would be pondering that dark subject."
That may be so. But I think death is a subject that we in our ordinary daily routine tend to brush off, despite our urgent need for knowledge on that strange puzzle. After all, the concept is scary. But why so? Because of the great unknown associated with cessation of life. We humans actually are extremely interested in -- even fascinated -- by death. But we don't want it to be "too real." TV action shows are sufficient. Or, for the more daring, the thrill of skydiving may be what we need to jolt our sense of mortality.
Yet every now and then a tragedy occurs that sharply concentrates our attention, as with the limousine crash that claimed the lives of 17 young revelers, a driver and two people standing in a restaurant parking lot. One second, nothing to worry about. The next, the shrieks of the mortally injured.
I went to take a look at the accident scene four days afterwards. What drew me? Well, in part, I suspect, it was the fact that the victims were mostly young, and that jogged my old memories of groups of youthful battlefield casualties. Also drawing me, I would say, is the fact of Death that is brought out by such a shocking event. Even though I am a Christian and have more faith in the verities of the New Testament than many people, there is still much I don't know about Death.
Here we are in this life, and throughout our time "here" we are faced with the question: What is Death all about? And the fact that Death is ever at the door, speaks to us about this life. It must be something very special.
But such a sudden end of the road... What kind of universe is this? Conventionally, we are told it will all make sense one day, in the sweet bye and bye. Yet that's hard to see from this curbstone. All I can think is: What kind of Crazy Guy is running this cosmos?
Of course, what we have is one brilliant but dark mind illuminating the work of another brilliant but dark mind. Though Hegel styled himself a Protestant philosopher/theologian, in fact he did not really believe the essential Christian doctrines. His idea of God was that of a cosmic force which fulfills itself via man. The German professor has had a substantial impact on the history of ideas, not only by being a precursor to Marxism but by the fact that he provoked a number of repudiations.
Hegel's works are long and obscure and I am in no rush to read them, but I am interested in the impact he had on 19th and 20th century thinkers. I would say that he was an 18th century scientifically minded young man who eventually wrote a book, The Phenomenology of Spirit, that appealed to a number of German intellectuals because it camouflaged a form of atheism, or at least strong doubt in Christian dogma. Though Hegel repudiated the atheistic Enlightenment, he was, I believe, swept along in that tide. Today, I would say, Hegelianism is reflected in the liberal humanism of some Protestant denominations (though later in life Hegel was politically conservative).
Having read several other books on Hegel, I am prepared to say that I doubt that his philosophy would satisfy me, and the reason: I don't get the impression he has dealt sufficiently with the reality of death.
You may say, "Of course, at your age, you would be pondering that dark subject."
That may be so. But I think death is a subject that we in our ordinary daily routine tend to brush off, despite our urgent need for knowledge on that strange puzzle. After all, the concept is scary. But why so? Because of the great unknown associated with cessation of life. We humans actually are extremely interested in -- even fascinated -- by death. But we don't want it to be "too real." TV action shows are sufficient. Or, for the more daring, the thrill of skydiving may be what we need to jolt our sense of mortality.
Yet every now and then a tragedy occurs that sharply concentrates our attention, as with the limousine crash that claimed the lives of 17 young revelers, a driver and two people standing in a restaurant parking lot. One second, nothing to worry about. The next, the shrieks of the mortally injured.
I went to take a look at the accident scene four days afterwards. What drew me? Well, in part, I suspect, it was the fact that the victims were mostly young, and that jogged my old memories of groups of youthful battlefield casualties. Also drawing me, I would say, is the fact of Death that is brought out by such a shocking event. Even though I am a Christian and have more faith in the verities of the New Testament than many people, there is still much I don't know about Death.
Here we are in this life, and throughout our time "here" we are faced with the question: What is Death all about? And the fact that Death is ever at the door, speaks to us about this life. It must be something very special.
But such a sudden end of the road... What kind of universe is this? Conventionally, we are told it will all make sense one day, in the sweet bye and bye. Yet that's hard to see from this curbstone. All I can think is: What kind of Crazy Guy is running this cosmos?
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