The aesthetics of ethical life

Abstract

In addressing the origins of Hegelian social philosophy from a non-theological perspective, the main objective of this project is to understand the role Hellenism plays in his political writings within the scope of the Republican tradition. This is performed by establishing and analyzing the relationship of young Hegel's querelle des anciens et des modernes with the ethical and political background of both French and German political thought. On the one side, in assessing the religious sources of moral agency, Hegel's criticism of the limits of Christianity for proper Republican social relations is best understood in view of Montesquieu's and Rousseau's comparative politics based on ancient and modern social practices and beliefs and the possibility of civil religion. On the other side, Hegel's reflections on autonomous moral agency are placed within the discussion of the positivity of religion in the spirit of the Kant's practical reason, adopting however Schiller's Hellenic ideal in suppressing the Kantian duality of sensibility and reason. By merging both sides together, the intended result is to establish that young Hegel's Republican ideal is based on a tridimensional aesthetic project - perception, affection and imagination - with a holistic view of the social experience of moral agency from the standpoint of shared religious beliefs and practices. (AU)