Hegel: the first culturalhistorical Psychologist
A 30 minute talk by Andy Blunden for the
Laboratory for Comparative
Human Cognition,
December 2007.
Press button to start the talk

Hegel’s concern was how
Germany could modernise and give its people freedom

Hegel introduced the
Cultural-Historical Subject
Descartes Hume Kant Fichte

Consciousness arises in Gap between Needs and their
Satisfaction
Labour
Intuition and
Concept

Activity with artefacts reproduces the universals apprehended in consciousness

History is driven by vulnerability to Immanent Critique
Relation of the individual to the universal
(the whole society)

The Logic spells out the inner dynamics of a Gestalt
Being Essence Notion

The structure of the Subject is:
Individual, Universal & Particular

Hegel’s
implies an presentation
of Spirit
Individual psyche
Collaborative activity/institution
Material culture/ideals

Despite all this, Hegel’s antiquity entailed certain limitations

Hegel still offers the best concept of “Extended Mind”
Hegel did not have a dichotomy between the individual and society
But Hegel was an
Idealist!!