Editing German philosophy (section)

===Karl Marx and the Young Hegelians===
{{main article|Hegelianism|Right Hegelians|Young Hegelians|Karl Marx}}
Hegel was hugely influential throughout the nineteenth century; by its end, according to [[Bertrand Russell]], "the leading academic philosophers, both in America and Britain, were largely Hegelian".<ref>[[Bertrand Russell]], ''[[A History of Western Philosophy]]''.</ref> His influence has continued in contemporary philosophy, especially in [[Continental philosophy]].

====Right Hegelians====
Among those influenced by Hegel immediately after his death in 1831, two distinct groups can be roughly divided into the politically and religiously radical 'left', or 'young', Hegelians and the more conservative 'right', or 'old', Hegelians. The [[Right Hegelians]] followed the master in believing that the [[dialectic#Hegelian dialectic|dialectic]] of history had come to an end—Hegel's ''[[Phenomenology of Spirit]]'' reveals itself to be the culmination of history as the reader reaches its end. Here he meant that reason and freedom had reached their maximums as they were embodied by the existing [[Prussia]]n state. And here the master’s claim was viewed as paradox, at best; the Prussian regime indeed provided extensive civil and social services, good universities, high employment and some industrialization, but it was ranked as rather backward politically compared with the more liberal constitutional monarchies of France and Britain.

Speculative theism<!--boldface per WP:R#PLA--> was an 1830s movement closely related to, but distinguished from, Right Hegelianism.<ref>[[Frederick C. Beiser]] (ed.), ''The Cambridge Companion to Hegel'', Cambridge University Press, 1993, p. 339 n. 58.</ref> Its proponents ([[Immanuel Hermann Fichte]] (1796–1879), [[Christian Hermann Weisse]] (1801–1866), and [[Hermann Ulrici]] (1806–1884)<ref>Kelly Parker, Krzysztof Skowronski (eds.), ''Josiah Royce for the Twenty-first Century: Historical, Ethical, and Religious Interpretations'', Lexington Books, 2012, p. 202.</ref> were united in their demand to recover the "[[personal God]]" after [[panrationalist]] Hegelianism.<ref>Warren Breckman, ''Marx, the Young Hegelians, and the Origins of Radical Social Theory: Dethroning the Self'', Cambridge University Press, 1999, p. 49.</ref> The movement featured elements of [[anti-psychologism]] in the [[historiography of philosophy]].<ref>William R. Woodward, ''Hermann Lotze: An Intellectual Biography'', Cambridge University Press, 2015, pp. 74–5.</ref>

====Young Hegelians====
The [[Young Hegelians]] drew on Hegel's idea that the purpose and promise of history was the total negation of everything conducive to restricting freedom and reason; and they proceeded to mount radical critiques, first of religion and then of the Prussian political system. They felt Hegel's apparent belief in the end of history conflicted with other aspects of his thought and that, contrary to his later thought, the dialectic was certainly ''not'' complete; this they felt was obvious given the irrationality of religious beliefs and the empirical lack of freedoms—especially political and religious freedoms—in existing Prussian society. They rejected anti-utopian aspects of his thought that "Old Hegelians" have interpreted to mean that the world has already essentially reached perfection. They included [[Ludwig Feuerbach]] (1804–72), [[David Strauss]] (1808–74), [[Bruno Bauer]] (1809–82) and [[Max Stirner]] (1806–56) among their ranks.

[[Karl Marx]] (1818–83) often attended their meetings. He developed an interest in Hegelianism, French socialism, and British economic theory. He transformed the three into an essential work of economics called ''[[Das Kapital]]'', which consisted of a critical economic examination of capitalism. [[Marxism]] became one of the major forces on twentieth century world history.

It is important to note that the groups were not as unified or as self-conscious as the labels 'right' and 'left' make them appear. The term 'Right Hegelian', for example, was never actually used by those to whom it was later ascribed, namely, Hegel's direct successors at the Fredrick William University (now the [[Humboldt University of Berlin]]). (The term was first used by David Strauss to describe Bruno Bauer—who actually was a typically 'Left', or Young, Hegelian.)

<gallery class="center" |width="100" |height="100">
File:Ludwig Andreas Feuerbach.jpg|[[Ludwig Feuerbach]]<br>(1804–72)
File:1908 David-Friedrich-Strauss.jpg|[[David Strauss]]<br>(1808–74)
File:Bruno Bauer.jpg|[[Bruno Bauer]]<br>(1809–82)
File:MaxStirner1.svg|[[Max Stirner]]<br>(1806–56)
File:Karl Marx 001.jpg|[[Karl Marx]]<br>(1818–83)
</gallery>