Page:A Brief History of Modern Philosophy.djvu/186

Rh is so prominent because of the severely systematic form of Hegel's works, is not the fundamental characteristic of Hegelian thought. Hegel was naturally a realist. His supreme ambition consisted in penetrating into the real forces of being, and abstract ideas were intended to express only the forms of this content. He was of course convinced that the elements of reality in every sphere are essentially related to each other in the same way as ideas are in the mind. In this way the twofold character of his philosophy as realistic penetration and logical system becomes clear. Epistemologically this might be stated as follows: namely, that he once more annuls the distinction between ground and cause (ratio and causa) which Hume and Kant had insisted on so strongly. To this extent he returns to pre-critical dogmatism.

The realistic character is still quite dominant in Hegel's earlier works, with which we are acquainted through his manuscripts which have been used by a number of investigators. During his youth he was much occupied with historical studies and reflections, especially those of a religious nature. He paid high tribute of praise to the periods in which men dwelt in natural fellowship, because the individual still constituted an actual part of the whole, and had not yet asserted itself with subjective reflection and criticism as is the case in modern times. Even Christianity appeared to him as a sign of disintegration because it was a matter of individual concern, whilst on the other hand he regarded classical antiquity as fortunately situated because the individual lived and wrought completely and spontaneously within the whole. Like Fichte (in the Grundzüge des gegenwärtigen Zeitalters) Hegel likewise experienced a profound sense of antagonism towards the enlightenment, notwithstanding the fact that he too