On the roles of men and women in the concept of family of Hegel’s philosophy of right

Abstract

 In Hegel’s Philosophy of Right, family is the most immediate institution of the ethical life, i.e., the system of customs that realize the concept of freedom within the spatiotemporal limits of a determined epoch. In this sense, family is the moment wherein its members are more involved in nature, although they already live in the domain of spirit. As a consequence, Hegel determines the roles for the members of family according to the respective genders, in the attempt to sublate nature into spirit without negating it. The present work is meant to raise two related questions: first, whether Hegel’s attribution of spiritual roles according to the natural genders of the family members is coherent with the most fundamental claims and concepts of his system, such as the relation between the notions of nature and spirit; second, whether Hegel’s philosophy can achieve its most fundamental purpose, which is to realize the idea of freedom in the instance of family.