''Sittlichkeit'' is the concept of "ethical life" or "ethical order" furthered by
philosopher
A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (; ; 27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a German philosopher. He is one of the most important figures in German idealism and one of the founding figures of modern Western philosophy. His influence extends ...
in his 1807 work ''
Phenomenology of Spirit
''The Phenomenology of Spirit'' (german: Phänomenologie des Geistes) is the most widely-discussed philosophical work of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel; its German title can be translated as either ''The Phenomenology of Spirit'' or ''The Phenomen ...
'' and his 1820/21 work ''
Elements of the Philosophy of Right
''Elements of the Philosophy of Right'' (german: Grundlinien der Philosophie des Rechts) is a work by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel published in 1820, though the book's original title page dates it to 1821. Hegel's most mature statement of his ...
'' (''PR'').
The three spheres of right
In ''Elements of the Philosophy of Right'', Hegel introduces the sphere of abstract rightMark Alznauer, ''Hegel's Theory of Responsibility'', Cambridge University Press, 2015, p. 6. (''Recht''), as the ''first'' of the three spheres of right. It is marked by the concept of personality and the actions of the individuals. This sphere constitutes what
Isaiah Berlin
Sir Isaiah Berlin (6 June 1909 – 5 November 1997) was a Russian-British social and political theorist, philosopher, and historian of ideas. Although he became increasingly averse to writing for publication, his improvised lectures and talks ...
would call
negative freedom
Negative liberty is freedom from interference by other people. Negative liberty is primarily concerned with freedom from external restraint and contrasts with positive liberty (the possession of the power and resources to fulfill one's own pote ...
, which is to say, freedom ascertained through the denial of outside impetus.David James, ''Hegel: A Guide for the Perplexed'', Continuum, 2007, p. 45.
The ''second sphere'' constitutes
Kantian morality
Kantian ethics refers to a deontological ethical theory developed by German philosopher Immanuel Kant that is based on the notion that: "It is impossible to think of anything at all in the world, or indeed even beyond it, that could be consider ...
, and is therefore called the sphere of morality (''Moralität''). This sphere constitutes what
Isaiah Berlin
Sir Isaiah Berlin (6 June 1909 – 5 November 1997) was a Russian-British social and political theorist, philosopher, and historian of ideas. Although he became increasingly averse to writing for publication, his improvised lectures and talks ...
would call
positive freedom
Positive liberty is the possession of the power and resources to act in the context of the structural limitations of the broader society which impacts a person's ability to act, as opposed to negative liberty, which is freedom from external restra ...
, which is to say,
moral autonomy
In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one's ow ...
. However, Hegel criticizes the deployment of Kantian morality in society for being insufficient. He explains this deficiency through philosophical critique of pathologies such as loneliness, depression and agony.
The ''third sphere'', the sphere of ethical life (''Sittlichkeit''), is marked by family,
civil society
Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere.Philip J. Kain, ''Marx and Modern Political Theory: From Hobbes to Contemporary Feminism'', Rowman & Littlefield, 1993, p. 128.
Later German thinkers developed the idea in various directions such as the liberal Carl Theodor Welcker, the conservative
Friedrich Julius Stahl
Friedrich Julius Stahl (16 January 1802 – 10 August 1861), German constitutional lawyer, political philosopher and politician.
Biography
Born at Würzburg, of Jewish parentage, as Julius Jolson, he was brought up strictly in the Jewish religi ...
, and the socialist
Wilhelm Weitling
Wilhelm Christian Weitling (October 5, 1808 – January 25, 1871) was a German tailor, inventor, radical political activist and one of the first theorists of communism. Weitling gained fame in Europe as a social theorist before he emigrated ...
. Welcker connected the idea to constitutional liberties. Stahl related it to a hierarchical godly order. However, Weitling rejected it as oppressive and believed that socialists must work to destroy it.Anton Jansson, "Building or destroying community: the concept of Sittlichkeit in the political thought of Vormärz Germany." ''Global Intellectual History'' 5.1 (2020): 86–103 online
Notes
References
* David Edward Rose London: Bloomsbury, 2007, ch. 7.
* Allen W. Wood ''Hegel's Ethical Thought'' Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990, ch. 7.
* Allen W. Wood (ed.) Cambridge University Press, 1991, xii–xiii.