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How did the Cincinnati Hegelians interpret Hegel’s political philosophy?
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Hegelianism
Dilthey, detail of an oil painting by R. Lepsius, c. 1904; in a private collection.
The Cincinnati school of Hegelians interpreted Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel’s political philosophy through a radical, republican lens, contrasting with the more conservative approach of the St. Louis school.1
Key figures in the Cincinnati group included August Willich and John Bernard Stallo. Their interpretations were shaped by the following perspectives:
- August Willich: A veteran of the Revolutions of 1848, Willich sought to ground the principles of social democracy in the humanistic foundations of Ludwig Feuerbach. He utilized his publication, the Cincinnati Republikaner, to engage with the work of Karl Marx.1
- John Bernard Stallo: Stallo interpreted Hegel’s political thought in explicitly republican terms. He viewed the democratic community as the realization of the dialectic rationality of the Spirit, emphasizing a rigorous separation of church and state as essential to this process.1
While the St. Louis Hegelians focused on legitimism and the state, the Cincinnati group emphasized democratic participation and humanistic social reform.1