Hegel+study+questions

(Add, answer, and discuss study questions for this author and reading)
 * What does Hegel mean by saying that relations between states are relations of "obligation"?

States are evolved **What does "evolved" mean here? 1223239066** entities. They grow out of civil society to give separated individuals a collective purpose and identity. The state gives otherwise independent individuals, a common and shared belief system with similar values and social norms. The state forms a background to the cultural foundations of the society and cements a feeling of belonging for the people. The nation-state is the ultimate expression of a cultural identity, or as Hegel would put it; '...a manifestation of spirit...'. Because each state evolves within its own unique environment and in a special way, each state is an evolution of its own particular 'spirit'. Therefore states are sovereign because each is the highest form of cultural identity of itself**Not quite - Hegel actually says something about why states are sovereign in the paragraphs on "International Law" of the Philosophy of Right, having to do with recognition1223239066**. States are sovereign because the laws within them grow out of the customs and traditions of the culture of the people resident in the society.**Not quite 1223239066** In order for a prospective nation-state to attain the status of being a sovereign state in its own right, it needs to be recognized by other states. This process of recognition is essentially saying 'we accept your existence as an independent, legitimate, self governing, body of people'. This process provides an awareness that the nation-state is different from, and separate from, other states. The self-awareness that arises gives the people of the state a reason to say 'we are not like other states' and leads to a national identity. This is to say that the people of a nation-state are a whole entity in themselves, not just a part of some other group. Sovereignty requires recognition of the independence of the state's culture and therefore legitimizes the culture's laws and right to rule itself. Recognition removes the claim of other outside nations to rule that people. Hegel agrees with the idea that war catalyzes the development of humanity and offers a critique of Kant’s aspirations of perpetual peace. According to Hegel war is an inevitable byproduct of statehood and will always exist. Hegel argues that war serves to revitalise and renew the state. Hegel believed that if perpetual peace were to be accomplished it would only lead to the state becoming “rigid and ossified” leading to its unfortunate death. Also, Hegel disagrees with Kant and states that “the state is an individual, and negation is an essential component of individuality. Therefore, even if a number of states were to join together as a family, this league, in its individuality, must generate opposition and create an enemy”. **How plausible is Hegel's view? 1223239066** Hegel thinks that war is inevitable between states because: the state is the terminal phase, it is the synthesis of previous both phases (the family and the society): the ethical realm **This is not clear. Why is its being the terminal phase mean that war is inevitable? 1223239066**. Every member of the state adopts the same moral behavior (conservation of the political community, feeling of membership in the political community). So the people who live in the state love it like a family and they are ready to die for it **They do not love it like a family, but at any rate why does the fact that they are ready to die for it show that war is inevitable? 1223239066**.
 * Why are states sovereign, according to Hegel?
 * Why is the fact that states have obligations to one another not incompatible with their sovereignty?
 * What does Hegel mean by saying that sovereignty depends on recognition?
 * What are Hegel's criticisms of Kant's proposal for a perpetual peace?
 * Does Hegel think war between states is inevitable? Why?

Hegel talks about the state’s sovereignty with an outside regard **Unclear 1223239066**. Three ideas stimulate his reflection: For Hegel, the state’s independence takes root in a conception of individuality. There is no possible overtaking the state: the state is the only recognized political structure **? 1223239066**. So, there is no universal politics. War is the standard in International Relations. War is even necessary for the health of peoples (field of morality).**Unclear 1223239066** War contributes to moral health. The international structure consisted of sovereign States (there are no superior entity beyond states). States become aware of them same as by the confrontation. The identity of the states crosses by negation of the other entities. **This whole paragraph is a bit choppy and unclear, though the basic points it makes seem to be right 1223239066** Hegel criticized peace. A too long peace is a source of passivity, apathy. There is a morbidity of peace. Peace softens and does not arouse any more the movement of life. Hegel uses the metaphor of the decay; stagnant waters are convenient to decay **Quotation? 1223239066**. People without war do not have an authentic life. For Hegel, we become aware of the exceptional character of life when we are going to lose it. War is bound to life but peace is bound to death. There is an admiration of war not a glorification of it **Expand 1223239066**.
 * Does Hegel believe that war is always negative? Or does he think that war can be positive?

Hegel agrees with Kant about war **What exactly does he agree with Kant about war? 1223239066**. But he disagrees with the project of a perpetual peace. For Hegel war make advances countries, it is the guile of the history. According to Hegel, this peace is neither desirable, nor practicable. To want this peace it is to remove the vital dimension of the human being. The fear of dying during a conflict is what makes the peoples live. For Hegel, the peace idea of Kant addresses more the individual of the society than the individual of the State. According to Hegel, there are three forms of community. They are the family, the civil society and the state. The family is the “realm of unconditional love”. An association with this form of community is unconditional, that is, there are no criteria to be a part of a family. A civil society is the “realm of self-interested individual conditions”. There is freedom and individuality but there is not necessarily a connection between these two ideas. People in a civil society have rights and the individuality exists by acknowledging conflict between people. A state is the “ethical realm”. It consists of individuals preserving cultural identity. This identity is formed through the establishment of laws.
 * Hegel states that the "welfare" of the state is its "supreme law ... in its relations with others" (Section 336). Does that mean that anything is justified in its relations with other states?
 * How ought war to be waged, according to Hegel? Does Hegel differ from Kant in this respect?
 * What role does the "world spirit" play in Hegel's theory of international relations?
 * Is the idea of a "world spirit" plausible? What reason might Hegel give us for this idea?
 * What are the different forms of community according to Hegel?