The subject of this course of Lectures is the Philosophical History of the World. And by this must
be understood, not a collection of general observations respecting it, suggested by the study of its
records, and proposed to be illustrated by its facts, but Universal History itself.
I cannot mention any work that will serve as a compendium of the course, but I may remark that in
my The Philosophy of Right §§. 341-360, I have already given a definition of such a Universal
History as it is proposed to develop, and a syllabus of the chief elements or periods into which it
naturally divides itself.
To gain a clear idea at the outset, of the nature of our task, it seems necessary to begin with an
examination of the other methods of treating History. The various methods may be ranged under
three heads:
I. Original History
II. Reflective History
III. Philosophical History
i. Reason Governs the World
ii. Essential destiny of Reason
(1) The Abstract Characteristics of the Nature of Spirit
(2) The Means Spirit Uses to Realize Its Idea
(3) The Embodiment Spirit Assumes - the State
iii. The Course of the World's History
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]