Hegel: the first cultural-Hegel: the first cultural-historical Psychologisthistorical Psychologist

A 30 minute talk by Andy Blunden for the Laboratory for Comparative Human Cognition, December 2007.

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Hegel’s concern was Hegel’s concern was how Germany could how Germany could

modernise and give its modernise and give its people freedompeople freedom

Hegel introduced theHegel introduced theCultural-Historical SubjectCultural-Historical Subject

Descartes Hume Kant Fichte

Consciousness arises in Gap Consciousness arises in Gap between Needs and their between Needs and their

SatisfactionSatisfaction

Intuition and Concept

Labour

Activity with artefacts Activity with artefacts reproduces the universals reproduces the universals

apprehended in apprehended in consciousnessconsciousness

History is driven by History is driven by vulnerability to vulnerability to Immanent Immanent

CritiqueCritique

Relation of the individual to the universal (the whole society)

The The LogicLogic spells out spells out thethe

inner dynamicsinner dynamicsof a of a GestaltGestalt

BeingBeing EssencEssencee

NotionNotion

The structure of the Subject The structure of the Subject is: Individual, Universal & is: Individual, Universal &

ParticularParticular

Hegel’s Hegel’s LogicalLogical presentation implies an presentation implies an

OntologyOntology of Spirit of SpiritIndividual psyche

Collaborative activity/institution

Material culture/ideals

Despite all this, Hegel’s antiquity Despite all this, Hegel’s antiquity entailed certain limitationsentailed certain limitations

Hegel still offers the best Hegel still offers the best concept of “Extended concept of “Extended

Mind”Mind”

Hegel did not have a dichotomy between the individual and society

But Hegel was an Idealist!!