Hegel’s Dialectical Process

What effect do ideas have on the way civilizations develop and history unfolds? In this brief clip, R.C. Sproul explores G.W.F. Hegel’s philosophy of “the dialectic,” which continues to influence how many people interpret the progress of history today.
Watch the full message: www.ligonier.org/learn/series...

[@martiangaming329]

I’ve spent hours watching & listening to RC Sproul and Will continue. It never gets old and I continue to learn each time.

[@newyorknight]

I love the way RC takes the time to explain things. He is missed greatly. Timeless teaching from the Bible teacher, who looked like a police detective.

[@Philiopantheon82]

Thesis, antithesis and synthesis is not Hegelian dialectic, in fact Hegel in preface to phenomenology criticize the triadic method in the first place, plus it originally belongs to Fichte, Hegel never explicitly mentioned dialectic like the way Professor explained.

[@rohxn6988]

facts

[@chrishorner7679]

True

[@J-Ton]

How did Hegel frame the idea?

[@Ethan-ly4iq]

​@@J-Ton As someone who is also just starting to grapple with Hegel's system, I will try to explain it as best I can. Hegel--as the above commenter mentioned--did not use the thesis-antithesis-synthesis triad to describe his dialectical/speculative method. It can be understood as having three movements; that of the abstract (understanding), dialectic (negative reason), and speculative (positive reason). Now, although this is more accurate to what Hegel is getting at, you can still encounter the same issues with abstract-dialectic-speculative as you do with thesis-antithesis-synthesis if you don't see it in action. In the beginning of Hegel's Science of Logic, he starts with the concept of pure, indeterminate being. If we analyze pure being, we realize that it has no content, no determinations, so what we are left with is really _nothing_ . Now, the concept of nothing can be understood as the lack of determination, and is thus the same as pure _being_ . We also treat nothing as something which _exists_ when we say "there _is_ nothing." We have now ended up where we started--with pure being. If we continue doing this, being and nothing will just keep vanishing into each other ad infinitum. As Hegel puts it: "they are not the same, [...] they are absolutely distinct yet equally unseparated and inseparable, [...] each immediately vanishes in its opposite" (p.60). This _movement_ of immediate vanishing is _becoming_ . So we went from being, to nothing, and finally becoming. You can picture it as being and nothing as being two sides of the same coin which is becoming. So now, you can probably see how thesis-antithesis-synthesis is misleading. Hegel's dialectical/speculative method is not about making a compromise between two propositions external to each other, but rather the self-movement of concepts through the power of its negative component which leads to the overcoming of its one-sidedness.

[@fakeemail4005]

@@Ethan-ly4iq So, to use the words thesis, antithesis, and synthesis, Hegel's dialectic method isn't that thesis and and antithesis face off until a synthesis comes along that joins the two together somehow, such that all 3 theses are distinct from eachother. But rather, the thesis and antithesis wrestle until they become one new thing in unison? I'm having trouble understanding, could you or somebody who reads this comment give me an example of this in real life?

[@aaaa-xk8ld]

Honestly, this is the best video to explain hegel's dialectical process. I would have loved to be in the class with this kind of professor.

[@robinmansions2884]

I didn't even know this gentleman was a religious teacher. I was just here for the great explanation of Hegel

[@STARRANISE-cv5qt]

This man stimulates my mind like very few can. He was extremely intelligent and respected God immensely. RIP BROTHER. Look forward to conversations with you in heaven.

[@XboxxxGuy]

Sad.

[@doctrinalwatchdogwatchmano6854]

Brother Sproul, you were always such an excellent source of Doctrine.

[@toributler8135]

This was really helpful. This concept was mentioned in a book I am currently reading and I remembered the name Hegel from some reading in college but I did not really have an understanding of the Hegelian dialectic. To be honest the online definitions were confusing.

[@milala6891]

He just explained something difficult so clearly in less than 5 minutes. Thank you for the video!

[@BJSepuku]

It's also completely wrong. Not once in his entire body of work has Hegel used the thesis - antithesis - synthesis model. He was in fact strictly opposed to that sort of formalism.

[@SomeIsBest]

​@@BJSepuku I see you have offered an antithesis to the OP. I wonder what the synthesis will be.

[@SuperTotoro3]

Well explained. More succinct using accessible language, than the other explanations I've found.

[@stevenshoemake2291]

Great breakdown of complex ideas, thank you

[@chrishorner7679]

This isn't, though, how Hegelian Dialectic works. The thesis/antithesis/synthesis thing was never mentioned by Hegel.

[@jamesanastasius2756]

Problem/reaction/solution

[@threeblindchickens]

@@jamesanastasius2756 that is also not the Hegelian dialectic

[@J-Ton]

What is the Hegelian dialectic, if not this idea or the idea of "problem-reaction-solution"?

[@threeblindchickens]

@@J-Ton its aufheben which doesn't have a direct translation into English but it means something like sublation or overcoming itself. you should read Phenomenology of spirit if you want to know how his dialectic works

[@J-Ton]

@@threeblindchickens Do you know any good secondary sources which might be helpful? I've found Hegel and Adorno to be very hard to follow and would love a better retelling if possible.

[@katsudonnie]

He explained it so much better then the my teacher did it in 2 hours, I finally understand it.

[@NightwatchN8]

See it every day on the news 😎

[@pappuchak8605]

Just brilliant!!! So easily explained❤❤❤... Thats how human history evolved over centuries after centuries... Would have been great if he could explain the Hegelian spirit a bit.. I mean the journey of Hegelian spirit into its higher consciousness...

[@yoshkebenstadapandora1181]

I miss this man. He was a giant in theology.

[@ronniesiyum6679]

Best explanation on this topicc.

[@AbbieOates]

Thank gosh Roger got the answer.

[@charliestubbs6151]

So many words, to describe what is self evident

[@shehuaminu9]

Well explained!!

[@ronaldjames6067]

Really interesting ! Is the complete lesson available somewhere ?

[@ligonier]

Hello Ronald, thank you for your message. You can watch the entire series titled, The Consequences of Ideas here: www.ligonier.org/learn/series/consequences-of-ideas

[@ronaldjames6067]

@@ligonier Thank you very much ! I am going to listen right now, God bless, love from Den Haag in the Netherlands.

[@uwekonnigsstaddt524]

@@ligonier I’ve got that 8 dvd set with me, it is a must.

[@catchywatchy7086]

You got it Roger

[@ttmag1667]

I will say this because the various mistranslations drive me up a tree: "aufgehoben" does not mean elevated. it 's best translated as "canceled out". In a different context it also means something like "to safekeep", though I realize that's not a word but it retains the original meaning of "keep safe for later use" . But that's not what Hegel meant.

[@user-ks5cg5cd7m]

Is this a part of a series?

[@HearGodsWord]

It's an extract from a longer message, which is part of a series. There's a link to it in the video description.

[@sp1ke0kill3r]

Great! More recitation! Dialectic for Hegel is not analyzing counter points in an argument. Nowhere does Hegel use the terms Thesis, antithesis synthesis. If one is going to teach Hegel, Its a good idea to actually read him.

[@J-Ton]

What words did Hegel actually use to describe this idea of learning?

[@rokask4596]

Roger was zoned out big time 😀

[@SethMoodyinersphobia]

The problem with this isn't just that it's wrong. In Phenomenology of Spirit, Hegel spends a lot of time warning the reader of the danger of exactly the experience that commenters on this video are describing: the feeling of understanding in the absence of having first struggled to understand. They are praising this person for making the complex seem simple. But he is doing that but moving around intuitive and simple notions. No struggle -> no learning. It's a trap. You're worse for having felt the false epiphany.

[@gregschroer2314]

Clear as mud

[@denniskozevnikoff1209]

what year is this?

[@savedbymylovegodthelordjes8394]

praise the Lord and God bless you all glory be to the HOLY TRINITY forever and ever amen

[@NourArt02]

Bro why did you have to disturb Roger's sleep, huh?

[@angienorris4529]

😂

[@bryanjacobs1423]

New Discourses has a 4 hour podcast on Hegel on their KZbin Channel. It's a great investment of your time, very eye-opening.

[@krispykremeSP]

I agree!

[@jessyjonas4988]

" .....but we have the mind of Christ." 1 Corinthians 2: 16✝️ Believers by the Holy Spirit have the understanding of the Spirit. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus... Philippians 2:5

[@J.D.806]

big brain "everything is being." huge brain "everything is becoming" galaxy brain "everything is being, and becoming."

[@madjack821]

Who else has learned this but from Fallout New Vegas?? It’s kind of ironic because the character talking about it is named Caesar 🤣 I prefer hearing Sproul teach it though.

[@timholloway8821]

Who thought a video game could teach us something as this? 🤣

[@madjack821]

@@timholloway8821 right? I’m kind of impressed

[@Curi0u50ne]

I thought Roger wasn’t paying attention and would have said can you ask me that question again😂

[@YenkammaNe]

Rome and Paris(CNN) Pope Francis on Wednesday called a report detailing decades of abuse in the French Catholic Church "a moment of shame," and called upon leaders of the Church to ensure "similar tragedies" never happen again. Francis was speaking a day after a landmark report found that members of the Catholic clergy in France sexually abused an estimated 216,000 minors over the past seven decades and that the Church prioritized the protection of the institution over survivors who were urged to stay silent.

[@johngregory582]

that Roger guy seems smart.

[@JCAN1]

Teaching auld yins Hegel.

[@janismuller9592]

POV: How to explain Hegel if you have no idea and never actually read Hegel

[@shopcrate5687]

So it's just elevation of thought solving. Nothing stays the same

[@tumwesigabarcly266]

I thought Thesis, Antithesis and Synthesis are terminologies in Kantian philosophy not Hegel's. I believe Hegel used the model Abstract-Negative-Concrete. James Donaldson in The Origin of Hegel's Dialectics (Laval théologique et philosophique) puts it that Hegel never used the thesis-antithesis-synthesis model to explain his work and greatly relied on the abstract-negative-concrete model. How right is Danaldson then?

[@FedExMan822]

New wine for new wine skins.

[@samuraikyokkan]

I submit that its not a rise, its analysis paralysis.

[@Anabsurdsuggestion]

This is not Hegel’s dialectic. This is from Fichte.

[@Ministry_0f_Truth]

Poor Roger didn't even know where he is 😂

[@PETERJOHN101]

The view that the dialectic process is beneficially expansive (socially or scientifically evolutionary) is also a thesis. Therefore, the antithetical of this approach is that it is nothing more than a form of intellectualized schizophrenia. Synthesize that.

[@drek273]

agreed

[@stephenhutchins7385]

sure. intellectualized schizophrenia is a necessary part of the process in evolution and expansion. we will inevitably get things wrong and synthesize things in ways that are unhelpful along the way, but this will provide insight into future syntheses.

[@TheJumpingjim]

This might work with theology or philosophy but it surely doesn't work with the scientific principle of testing ideas in the pursuit of curiosity. Pity the philosophers and religious guys don't give the scientific method a try.

[@badlaamaurukehu]

101

[@therealBocaStudios]

I love the hierarchy this brilliant professor explains. So many educated idiots don’t understand (or cannot have their viewpoints challenged). This all points to the final elucidation, which is why God created government in the first place.

[@frozono6871]

Ñ

[@craigsilver2146]

The Synthesis is the ultimate control of man by Lucifer the light.

[@joeybwalsh]

Roger was definitely day dreaming. Thankful for wives.

[@jeanymacdonald6964]

Duidelijker kan niet 👍🏾

[@clintmyrick4128]

Aufgehoben!

[@uwekonnigsstaddt524]

Google Translate is your friend: “Origin Mid 19th century; earliest use found in New Brunswick Review. From German aufgehoben, specific use (in Hegelian philosophy) of the past participle of aufheben to lift up, to keep, preserve, to annul, rescind, nullify, to neutralize, balance out from auf- + heben.”

[@jimba6486]

Here is a money maker fellows. Who will be the synthesis between Trump and Biden’s politics? That middle ground is the basis for a new era

[@thefaith2332]

They point of trump and biden is to divide so the isnt solutions or at least not real solutions

[@sawysauce1256]

This dude must be a frumentari or something

[@mikedaniels3009]

Awesome upload. Tell y'all what. Can't wait till Jesus's second coming. THEN will be having ONE thesis only FOREVER. The Undisputed God's way only and aufgehoben of all ungodly, humanistic antithesis BS.

[@J.D.806]

God created his own anti-thesis... unless you beleive there are other creators.

[@jorden9821]

Hegel was evil

[@Koropokel]

this is not hegels dialectics...

[@nonperson8293]

this has nothing to do with hegel

[@Ministry_0f_Truth]

Are you sure about that?

[@reddoor2492]

We've only gotten more and more ignorant in my opinion.

[@jorden9821]

Not more ignorant than Hegel himself 😂 he was just a nut who knew big words.

[@wanshitong5101]

@@jorden9821 Hegel? I wouldn’t say that, he definitely had clear intentions, with clear rationale. But from our perspective, it is tough to parse his purposes because it’s a lengthy work that we need to really apply ourselves to.

[@z0uLess]

This philosophy is outdated now that our attentional resources bottlenecks what is being reacted to

[@andrewscott3184]

Dead Horse

[@mattd8725]

This is an explanation of something, but not an explanation of Hegel at all.

[@andredias1717]

Just go to the right there in Aristotles and stop the dialect madness...

[@mikaeljokic8867]

Please pray that God saves me and fills me with His Holy Spirit, thanks

[@uwekonnigsstaddt524]

Saves you?

[@mikaeljokic8867]

@@uwekonnigsstaddt524 I have been falsely converted for 5 years and I'm not in a good position

[@chrisminer4857]

@Mikael Jokic run to Christ now and be saved! Plead with the King of kings to show mercy upon you and plead the promises He gives that He will no turn any away who come to Him. Keep on seeking Him until He reveals Himself to you. Repent of your sins and believe the gospel my friend! “Seek the Lord while He may still be found”

[@mikaeljokic8867]

My heart is pretty hard and it's scary

[@StallionFernando]

@@mikaeljokic8867 keep seeking and ask him to soften you heart. Sadly without true repentance one cannot be saved. Fast, pray and read the bible, keep seeking and he will answer.

[@berglen100]

Realize you were with God before creation and experience every state, more lives than you are awake about going threw them, some short some long and God in you doing it all good and evil.

[@douglasmcnay644]

Heresy.

[@spencergsmith]

What?

[@spiroclimb2523]

@@spencergsmith Berglen100 believes "we" are creators and are not subject to an external God.

[@uwekonnigsstaddt524]

Thumbs down

[@clos1203]

Spiro climb nice.

[@GeorgWilde]

So any nonsense that someone can come up with as anti-thesis has to be taken in and incorporated into a new thesis (synthesis)? That sounds ridiculous.