ABSTRACT
Hegel, professor of philosophy at Jena, Heidelberg, and, later, Berlin, constructed a vast scheme of philosophical analysis in which the entire universe was presented as a systematic whole. All phenomena, material or metaphysical, were viewed as interdependent and existing as part of a dialectical process of ‘unfolding’. Law played an important role in man’s development, but applied to him only in so far as he was ‘wholly free’. Hegel was a major influence on the development of the study of philosophy and history. Given the wide range of theories for which he was responsible, the answer should be based on a selection of his views which are concerned with his methodology (the dialectic, which has affected jurisprudential thought in a variety of ways) , his theory of the state and his attitude to the law. The following skeleton plan is used:
Introduction – the interdependence of all things – the dialectic – theory of the state – law in relation to man – punishment of offenders – conclusion, criticisms of Hegel.
