Objective: Consciousness: Sense Certainty: This, and Meaning | Perception, Thing and Deceptiveness Hegel was influenced by his times, and both reflected the Romantic philosophy that was developing around him and reacted against the Enlightenment philosophy that had gone before him. This lesson discusses Hegel's influences and his times.
1. Research activity. Give students reference materials and ask them to research the philosophy that had preceded Hegel. Who were the philosophers who influenced him? What were their philosophies?
2. Short presentation. Ask students to spend some time preparing and then delivering presentations about the philosophers who influenced Hegel. What was Kant's influence? Plato's?
3. Class discussion. What was the state of science in Hegel's time, and how was the development of science affecting philosophy in general and Hegel's philosophy in particular? What influence did the American War for Independence and the Napoleonic Wars in Europe have on Hegel's thinking?