The Actuality of Liberty – par 485 Encyclopedia

Hegel is discussing the concept of liberty and its actualization through the unity of rational will with a single will. Liberty is never an individual action that breaks free of social restraints just for the fun of it. You might want to dress in a pair of jeans at your wedding, to express your individual preferences. Hegel would never accept that as a rational usage of your freedom. The more authentic way of expressing your individual (rational) freedom would be precisely to choose to dress according to fashion – never invent it, but follow it, he once said. Ask yourself, why would you wear jeans on such an occasion?

1. Unity of Rational Will with Single Will: Hegel suggests that liberty is realized when the rational will (associated with reason and thought) aligns with the single will, the will of the individual. This alignment is described as the immediate medium in which liberty becomes actual.
2. Actuality of Liberty: This unity is described as constituting the “simple actuality of liberty.” In other words, liberty is not just an abstract concept but becomes only real and tangible when the rational will and the individual will merge.
3. Content and Universality: Hegel argues that the content of this unity belongs to thought and is virtual in its universality. This implies that the essence of liberty is both conceptual and universal.
4. Law and Authority: When this content, imbued with universality, is recognized and institutionalized by intelligent consciousness, it takes the form of law or authoritative power. In other words, when society acknowledges and enforces the universal principles of liberty, it becomes law. That law is still ultimately nothing other than the inner rational content of free will, externalized as law.
5. Manner and Custom (Usage): Conversely, when the content of liberty is detached from mere practical feelings and impulses and is ingrained in the individual will in its universal form, it manifests as manner, custom, or usage. Hegel emphasizes that liberty when internalized by individuals, shapes their habits, temperament, and character. Hegel tries to bring back the idea of the “ethos”, and the “beautiful life” that supposedly was dominant in the Greek polis. Acting following the realized spirit of the collective is a higher way of living than merely obeying rules.

Hegel states in this paragraph that the realization of liberty works through the alignment of rational will and individual will, emphasizing the importance of universality in its conceptualization (it needs to be accepted by all) and its manifestation in both societal laws and individual behavior (it needs to be obeyed by all).