How did Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel react to Napoleon’s victory at the Battle of Jena?

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel did not react to Napoleon’s victory at the Battle of Jena in 1806 with patriotic distress. Instead, he viewed the event with satisfaction, as he perceived the Prussian state at the time to be defined by a corrupt and conceited bureaucracy.1

Writing to a friend the day before the battle, Hegel expressed admiration for the emperor and the concept of the "world soul," welcoming the likely defeat of the Prussians. This perspective reflected his critical stance toward the existing political order, which he contrasted with the potential for progress represented by the Napoleonic era.12