Hegel's Political Philosophy: A Systematic Reading Of The Philosophy Of Right

A SYSTEMATIC READING of the PHILOSOPHY OF RIGHT THOM BROOKS ‘A genuinely novel and interesting commentary on Hegel’s Philosophy of Right.’ Professor Mark Bevir, University of California, Berkeley ‘A very welcome addition to the literature on Hegel’s political philosophy.’ Professor Stephen Houlgate, University of Warwick Hegel’s Elements of the Philosophy of Right is widely acknowledged to be one of the most important works in the history of political philosophy. It is broadly agreed that Hegel intended this work to be interpreted as a significant part of his greater system of speculative philosophy. Where disagreement occurs is on the question of the relevance of Hegel’s larger philosophical system to understanding his Philosophy of Right. The greater part of the book demonstrates the results of this systematic reading by exploring several areas of Hegel’s political philosophy: his theories of property, punishment, morality, law, monarchy, and war. It is shown that by looking beyond the text to Hegel’s larger philosophical system, we can achieve an improved understanding of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right. Thom Brooks is a Reader in Political and Legal Philosophy at the University of Newcastle. He is editor of Locke and Law (2006) and Rousseau and Law (2005), co-editor (with Fabian Freyenhagen) of The Legacy of John Rawls (2005) and founding editor of the Journal of Moral Philosophy. Jacket design: Cathy Sprent Edinburgh University Press 22 George Square Edinburgh EH8 9LF www.eup.ed.ac.uk Edinburgh ISBN 978 0 7486 2574 1 Front cover image: photograph of Tynemouth Castle © Thom Brooks THOM BROOKS This is the first book on the subject to take Hegel’s system of speculative philosophy seriously as an important component of any robust understanding of his Philosophy of Right. It sets out the difference between ‘systematic’ and ‘non-systematic’ readings of the text before discussing important, relevant features of Hegel’s system, in particular the unique structure of his philosophical arguments. HEGEL’S POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY HEGEL’S POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY HEGEL’S POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY A SYSTEMATIC READING of the PHILOSOPHY OF RIGHT THOM BROOKS Hegel’s Political Philosophy Hegel’s Political Philosophy A Systematic Reading of the Philosophy of Right Thom Brooks Edinburgh University Press # Thom Brooks, 2007 Edinburgh University Press Ltd 22 George Square, Edinburgh Typeset in Goudy Old Style by Iolaire Typesetting, Newtonmore, and printed and bound in Great Britain by Biddles Ltd, King’s L