Date of Award
5-1979
Document Type
Dissertation - Restricted
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Philosophy
Abstract
The age in which we live has been characterized as an age of alienation, ·an age of widespread social unrest and rapid change. Karl Marx is one of the significant voices of the last century to have addressed itself to this historical era.
The purpose of this dissertation is to clarify some of the unexplored texts and arguments of Marx's concept of a rational state as found in the Critique of Hegel's 'Philosophy of Right. There are essentially four main problems that will be clarified throughout the treatment of this dissertation: 1) according to Marx, Hegel never in his Philosophy of Right gets past the level of Understanding (Verstand), and Hegel's endorsements of organic, constitutional institutions never fulfills his own demand that philosophy must attain the level of Reason (Vernunft); 2) Hegel is content to let nature rather than rationality function as decisive in his exposition of constitutional monarchy; 3) the rational state is the concretion of the self-determination of a people, but within the Hegelian analysis of the state, the individual nowhere arrives at his true universality and social existence; 4) institutions other than those endorsed by Hegel are what ought to exist if the rational state is to become an actuality.
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