The ETHICAL THEORY of HEGEL A Study of the PHILOSOPHY OF RIGHT By HUGH A. REYBVRN, M. A., D. Phil. Professor of Logic and Psychology at the University of Cape Town OXFORD At the CLARENDON PRESS 1921 TO SIR HENRY JONES, LL. D., F. B. A. THE GREATEST TEACHER WHOM I HAVE KNOWN PREFACE THIS book was written for the most part before the war, and, save for a slight revision in the early part of 1915, is untouched by war influences. In spite of the long delay which has ensued before publication, I have thought it better to leave my work as it stands. No doubt a very much better book could be written, but any alterations which I should be inclined to make at present would alter the purpose which the book is intended to serve. My intention was to write not on ethical and political theory but on Hegel, and I have made no attempt to recast the Hegelian doctrine in the light of our present knowledge. A reconstruction of our modern problems and outlook on the basis of Hegels teaching would be an exceedingly valuable contribution to knowledge, but it is a larger task than is attempted here. The first step toward it is a reasonable knowledge of the authentic Hegel himself, and it is only this step that I have tried to take. Much of the criticism of Hegel current to-day and in the last few years appears to be vitiated by an unsympathetic and somewhat inaccurate interpretation of Hegel, and my endeavour has been to provide an account which will make his view more intelligible. Accordingly criticism has been reduced to a minimum, and has been undertaken only when the comprehension of the theory itself seemed to demand it. Nothing which I have seen since the book was first written has led me to alter myview of Hegels teaching. My indebtedness in carrying out this work has been great. What I owe to the literature will, I hope, be sufficiently viii PREFACE obvious from the text. My greatest debt, however, is to Sir Henry Jones of Glasgow University, under whose influence I began this study and from whom I obtained not only valu able detailed assistance in the study of Hegel but also the im pulse and encouragement which led me to attempt the work. He has read through the manuscript and enabled me to make it a better book than it could otherwise have been. Portions of the manuscript have also been read by Professor J. W. Scott of Cardiff, Professor A. R. Lord of Grahamstown, and Principal Hethcrington of Exeter University College. They are not responsible for my views and mistakes, but they have given me valuable advice. In the labour of preparing the book I have been greatly helped by my wife. HUGH A. REYBURN. UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN, August 1921. CONTENTS PAGE Introduction …….. xi CHAPTER I. The Logical Background i II. Fundamental Logical Categories . . 17 III. The Real and the Rational … 45 IV. Mind 76 V. Subjective Mind ….. 90 VI. Abstract Right 115 VII. Wrong and Punishment …. 143 VI II. The Principles of Morality …158 IX. Moral Teleology ….. 185 X. The Ethical Order and the Family . . 197 XI. Civil Society or the External State . . 214 XII. The State 226 XIII. The Limits of the State … . 253 INTRODUCTION ONE of the difficulties in the study of Hegels philosophy is that of finding a starting-point. The theory is a closed circle and does not seem to contain any convenient means of ingress. The approach which Hegel himself provides in the Phenomenology may wellseem as formidable a fastness as the castle itself, and sometimes the method which recommends itself most is simply to break in at any point where the wall looks less forbidding than usual. To those who adopt this course the Philosophy of Right has some attractions. For one thing, the treatise is an elaborate re-mapping of ground which Hegel has dealt with on more than one previous occasion, and consequently the style is k ss burdened by the task of expressing novel ideas…
