Hegel and the Problem of Self-Consciousness Essay

Self-consciousness implies a state of mind that makes the individual aware of how others perceive him, and thus influences how he sees himself. In a sub-section of the Phenomenology of Spirit entitled ‘Independence and Dependence of Self-Consciousness: Lordship and Bondage’, Hegel describes the development of self-consciousness, and that while he agrees with the notion put forth by earlier philosophers that an individual is aware of himself as a conscious being and a subject, he also advances the argument that other beings (and fellow subjects) are objects from the point of view of the primary subject (self). In addition, within the realm of the social arena the individual is often locked into a struggle for the affirmation of his†¦show more content†¦In immediate self-consciousness the simple ‘I’ is the absolute object which, however, for us or in itself is absolute mediation and has its essential moment lasting independence† (95). Those t hat relinquish the struggle, however, end up being the slave of external circumstances. From this point, Hegel introduces the archetypes of the lord and the bondsman. The bondsman is the position that most of humanity occupies since most people are ultimately concerned for the struggle for bodily survival as a result of the profound fear of death and place that struggle as being central to existence and far more important than defending the integrity of the ego, an invisible concept which may not help them in their endeavors. Because they are easily manipulated by these external needs, men often fall under the power of other men, such as the lord and the bondsman loses sight of himself more as he begins to work for the lord. The problem of enslavement becomes much worse, especially if one’s sense of self is vastly different than the ‘other’s’ objective view of the self (since the self views the ‘other’ as an object). Although that seems to be the crux of the relationship, this working through fear is simply the first phase t oward an independent self-consciousness. The lord is the pure ego, as he asserts his independence from the realm of things and objects, which he places under his command. For the ‘lords’ of the world, theirShow MoreRelatedHegel and The Phenomenology of Spirit824 Words   |  3 PagesGeorg Hegel (1770-1831) is one of the more difficult philosophers to read and understand. His works, though, had an extremely important effect on the European and American philosophers from the 18th century on, and one of the more important changes in the post-Industrial Revolutionary World, Marxism, had Hegel to thank for a basic overview of historical systems. 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