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Ivan Mendoza

Prof. Sean Hills

Humanities 1

28 April 2012

Object and Subject: Hegelian Dialectic

We are all objects who are conscious under a civilization, but the subject or the

government is our conscious, thus proving Hegel's argument in which the object is conscious and

that consciousness is dependent on the subject, who in turn needs the recognition of the. The

object can freely recognize and be able to distinguish with no perspective given, while the

subject needs to recognize in order to be conscious; both need each other to exist. The object's

self-awareness is different than the subject's because the object recognizes who the subject is

while the subject is chosen by an object. The object has infinite modes of existence and qualities

and, as such, they cannot be completely perceived in all its aspects and manifestations, due to the

inherent limitations of being human states the Jain doctrine of Anekantavada; the object is

infinite while the subject is finite and limited.

"...the State 'has the supreme right against the individual, whose supreme duty is to be a

member of the State... for the right of the world spirit is above all special privileges.'"

Author/historian William Shirer, quoting Georg Hegel in his The Rise and Fall of the Third

Reich (1959, page 144). The Hegelian dialect states that "A (thesis) versus B (anti-thesis) equals

C (synthesis)" (crossroad.com); therefore Hegel maintains his argument that although an object

feels free to do whatever it please, the ultimate power is beheld by the subject who chooses it. An

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object's sense of self awareness is rather different than a subject's, since an object has no specific

perspective while a living subject does have a perspective giving it a chance to be aware of its

self, the object is free to analyze and view anything in its own personal form and opinion.

The object is free since "the subject posits itself only in opposition; it asserts itself as the

essential and set up the other as inessential, as the object." (Second Sex, p.7). For example one

might find that while in your country you are seen as native, that in another country you are a

foreigner, and the reciprocity is seen both ways; "the other consciousness has an opposing

reciprocal claim" (p.7). In modern society we would assume that a woman would recognize her

place opposed to a man; but there is always an opposing argument that will occur during sexes,

"... the very difficult to her situation protects her from the mystifications by which the male lets

himself be dupes; he is easily deceived" (p.416) While the object, the woman, is assumed to be

controlled it therefore reciprocates and its freedom is shown through its power of being human,

therefore it is infinites, and thus explaining why the subject, man, is easily deceived and

persuaded. Although a woman accommodates herself in her passive role, she is ultimately letting

her freedom be taking away and she envies the man in his prey; a woman's freedom as the object

is therefore finite; object's must be let free since they are infinite.

Personally, I agree with the Hegel's argument since I believe that an object is free and

infinite because we as humans have unbelievable power in which we can do whatever we put our

minds to. We as humans, or objects, must not be chosen, but rather choose our subjects and

embrace our power as free humans. Ultimately for example, we are free to do what we chose, we

will be judged by many but we must not let others choose our way of life, but let ourselves

choose our path in life and live every moment as its our last. For the argument of sex, there will

always exists a reciprocal tension between man and woman because both are very willing full

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individuals, and although society claims that man is a man stern and bearable human being,

woman likewise, although they do not proclaim it, believe they are able of the same skills as

men.

Works Cited

1. What is the Hegelian Dialectic?. Nike Rapine and Nordica Friedrich, October 2005

http://www.crossroad.to/articles2/05/dialectic.htm

2. Dialectic. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dialectic

3. The Dialectic of Subject and Object and some Problems of the Methodology of Science V. A.

Lectors, http://www.marxists.org/subject/psychology/works/lektorsky/essay_77.htm

4. Second Sex, Saone de Beauvoir.