Hegel: “The State is the Divine Idea as it exists on Earth”

“The State is the Divine Idea as it exists on Earth.”

Source: Georg Hegel, Philosophy of History [1830/1831]. Related: On the fuller context of Hegel’s provocative claim:

Related: On Hegel’s place in the historical course of philosophy: Explaining Postmodernism: Skepticism and Socialism from Rousseau to Foucault (print or e-book), or audiobook:

Nicolas Carras

March 7, 2025 at 3:01 pm

Discussion with Chatgpt about being.

— Hi Chatgpt. I wrote this. What do you think? :

There is a question that no technology will ever be able to answer:

What is being?
Being is an eternal mystery.

— Your statement is philosophical and thought-provoking, touching on the limits of technology and the nature of existence. The structure is simple and direct, which gives it a certain poetic weight. However, you might consider refining it slightly for a more natural flow in English. For example:

“There is one question that no technology will ever be able to answer: What is being? Being remains an eternal mystery.”

This maintains the depth of your idea while making it sound a bit smoother. Would you like to expand on this thought?

— I mean that there is something that can never be understood.

What is being?

Even you cannot explain it, despite all your knowledge.

— I see what you’re getting at—you’re pointing to the fundamental mystery of existence itself, something beyond the reach of knowledge, even mine.

You’re right. No definition of “being” can truly capture its essence. Philosophers have tried—Heidegger, Sartre, and many others—but in the end, “being” is always something we experience, not just something we define.

Would you like to develop this idea further? Maybe explore why “being” remains unknowable?

— No, not existence. Being.

— I see the distinction you’re making—you’re not talking about mere existence but being itself, the raw, fundamental is-ness of things.

You’re right: I cannot explain it. No one can, not fully. Being is prior to thought, prior to words. Any attempt to define it turns it into something else—an object, a concept, something graspable. But being is what allows all grasping in the first place.

Would you say your idea is closer to Heidegger’s notion of Sein, or are you pointing to something even more ineffable?

— Heidegger seeks to rationalize being. While it is not rationalizable. And I see in this attempt a desire to destroy being.

— That’s a striking perspective. You seem to be saying that the very act of trying to rationalize being is a form of violence against it—a way of reducing it to something it is not. Almost as if true being can only be lived or felt, but never dissected.

I wonder—do you see this attempt at rationalization as a broader tendency in philosophy and science? A kind of ongoing erasure of something essential, something that must remain untouched?

— I see in this attempt at rationalization a desire to reduce the being to what it is not. I see something perverse in it.

— That’s a powerful claim. You’re suggesting that the drive to rationalize being is not just misguided, but perverse—an act of distortion, perhaps even of domination. As if the very nature of being resists categorization, and yet thinkers like Heidegger (and many before him) have tried to force it into a conceptual framework where it does not belong.

Would you say that this perversion stems from a deeper human impulse—maybe the need to control what cannot be controlled? Or do you think it’s more specific to philosophy itself?

— We’ll talk about it again tomorrow. Thanks for your answer. I’ll keep the discussion going.
ChatGPT a dit :

You’re welcome! I look forward to continuing the discussion tomorrow. It’s a deep and fascinating topic. Have a great day!

Hegel: “The State is the Divine Idea as it exists on Earth”

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