Publication Details

Abstract

In the paper different conceptions of Hegel’s social theory in the Essay on the Natural Law (Naturrechtaufsatz 1802) and in the Philosophy of Law are analyzed. In his conception of „ethical order“ (Sittlichkeit) in which Hegel criticizes the conception of society from the standpoint of the individual, Hegel, under Aristotle’s influence, stresses the priority of the social whole over the individual. The starting point of the Philosophy of Law is the individual who objectivizes his personal will in the propriety (Eigentum). This seems to be quite contrary to the previous Hegel’s conception. In his analyses of the individual will and later even society, Hegel, however, reveals structures of a general character which transcend the individual. It is especially the family and the state. The demonstration of ethical order (Sittlichkeit) in the sphere of propriety (Eigentum) is capacity (Vermögen) which is not property of the individual but the property (Besitz) of the family and it represents the power and might of the civil society (bürgerliche Gesellschaft).