Philosophy and War: Hegel’s Therapeutic Movement of Spirit

Abstract

Abstract In addition to Axel Honneth’s thesis on the therapeutic function of the concept of ethical life in Hegel’s philosophy, I want to underline two moments which, to my mind, show Hegel’s views on the therapeutic dimension of both philosophy and the war against the pathology of civil society more clearly. In this context, (a) philosophy performs a corrective function by fostering the individual’s virtue conceived as an ethical duty of care both for oneself and for others. The main aim of Hegel’s practical philosophy is hence to return the individual from abstract subjective concepts to his concrete everyday intersubjective practices, and to show him the way to understand himself and the social world as originally related to each other; (b) one of the main problems for the moral development of individuals consists in their propensity to perceive the good in particularist and selfish terms: in this context events such as natural disasters or wars can be seen as performing a therapeutic function by teaching individuals to view the good in more principled and general terms. Keywords: Therapy, Practice, Spirit, War, Moral, Ethical Life, Suffering, Hegel, Honneth