Joseph Pallattil

Known for his systematic, comprehensive and elaborate philosophy in his lectures and published writings, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel is a major contributor during the period of German idealism. Being one of the major personalities of the German Philosophical scenario in the first half of nineteenth century, the versions of his lectures on philosophy of religion, aesthetics and the history of philosophy were published after his death. Out of his many philosophical propositions and ideas, the most outstanding one is his “Hegelian dialectic”.
On defining in philosophical terms, Hegelian dialectic is nothing but an interpretative method in which the contraction between a proposition (thesis) and its antithesis is resolved at a higher level of truth (synthesis). In a simpler note, a deeper understanding of any situation can be achieved unbiasedly if it follows this three staged resolving. The topic to be dealt undergoes the first stage of discussion. To this, a second stage of discussion takes place where we contradict the idea discussed before. After analysing these two, we come up with an unbiased solution for the same. This solution can also be a base for another contradiction and so goes this cycle.  Hegel used this method as a backbone to support many of his writings.
Mostly, we end up deciding a lot of things to what it seems the best for us in the first view. But later we might have come across situations where we ourselves regret for not having a self-satisfaction with whatever we have decided. In few cases we see things through a pre-judgemental eye too. The decisions we make out in these cases may not be the ones we should have been. Hegel’s idea of ‘thesis- antithesis- synthesis cycle’ is applicable in our day to day decisions too. It enhances a broader thinking and a better understanding of our problems. Analysing the good and bad aspects of something, help us to come up with a genuine and unbiased solution or decision to what we have been searching. Man tend to avoid his darker side at times. We generally portray ourselves as the best. Even if that’s very human and normal, it might not be helpful for our own growth with essence and quality. Like a coin has two sides, so do we. Finding and bringing out those two good and bad sides for a better result will only enhance our qualitative growth. It makes us know the more of us; the real us. Day by day, months by months, years by years and problems by problems, we slowly learn not only to solve them in an effective way, but also learn to broaden our thoughts and minds for a better living in our society. Such an elaborate thinking pushes us to become a greater version of what we should be.