How We Got to Where We Are and Where We Are Going Through Hegel's Dialectic
Honors Capstone Project
1
Advisor(s)
Dr. David McClough
Confirmation
1
Document Type
Poster
Location
McIntosh Activities Room
Start Date
19-4-2024 12:00 PM
End Date
19-4-2024 12:50 PM
Abstract
The United States has gone through historical events that have shaped the course of the nation. These events are best analyzed through the Dialectic. Specifically, Hegel's form of the Dialectic. As opposed to other forms of analyzing history, the dialectic has provided a very influential and analytical way to view history. Philosophers such as Socrates and Kant used it as a tool to analyze what themes in history led to changes in history, Kant used it as a tool to use events of the past to find trends that may be replicated in the future. Contemporaries of Hegel such as Marx used the dialectic to predict the conclusions of history, and even further, Fukuyama used the dialectic to declare the point in which major history concluded. I used the years of 1980 to 2024 to analyze the trends of historical events, the themes, practices, and philosophies in order to discern the necessary properties of compiling a dialectic that is able to be used to accurately describe the present. Contrary to other dialectical interpretations, history has grown beyond the conflict between communism and democracy, and it has grown past the class struggle that was deemed in other findings. In the modern era, the conflict within the United States is found between the need to better the nation as a whole, and the desire to better the wants of the few. The conflict arises through a nearly inversed Rawlsian position, those who do not have desire to have a lot in the future. Thus, they act in ways that is against their current interests and in the benefit of those who are in a minority. The result of this conflict is the creation of a populist political format where policy hardly matters but perception of strength and use of buzz words rule the day. The paper concludes in finding that Populist politics will continue in the United States so long as they are successful in a series of elections. Though populism may not always be a staple in American Democracy, it is very likely that populist politics will persist in the United States for years to come.
Recommended Citation
De La Cruz, Cross A., "How We Got to Where We Are and Where We Are Going Through Hegel's Dialectic" (2024). ONU Student Research Colloquium. 31.
https://digitalcommons.onu.edu/student_research_colloquium/2024/Posters/31
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How We Got to Where We Are and Where We Are Going Through Hegel's Dialectic
McIntosh Activities Room
The United States has gone through historical events that have shaped the course of the nation. These events are best analyzed through the Dialectic. Specifically, Hegel's form of the Dialectic. As opposed to other forms of analyzing history, the dialectic has provided a very influential and analytical way to view history. Philosophers such as Socrates and Kant used it as a tool to analyze what themes in history led to changes in history, Kant used it as a tool to use events of the past to find trends that may be replicated in the future. Contemporaries of Hegel such as Marx used the dialectic to predict the conclusions of history, and even further, Fukuyama used the dialectic to declare the point in which major history concluded. I used the years of 1980 to 2024 to analyze the trends of historical events, the themes, practices, and philosophies in order to discern the necessary properties of compiling a dialectic that is able to be used to accurately describe the present. Contrary to other dialectical interpretations, history has grown beyond the conflict between communism and democracy, and it has grown past the class struggle that was deemed in other findings. In the modern era, the conflict within the United States is found between the need to better the nation as a whole, and the desire to better the wants of the few. The conflict arises through a nearly inversed Rawlsian position, those who do not have desire to have a lot in the future. Thus, they act in ways that is against their current interests and in the benefit of those who are in a minority. The result of this conflict is the creation of a populist political format where policy hardly matters but perception of strength and use of buzz words rule the day. The paper concludes in finding that Populist politics will continue in the United States so long as they are successful in a series of elections. Though populism may not always be a staple in American Democracy, it is very likely that populist politics will persist in the United States for years to come.