Hegel proposed a synthesis of many different philosophies — particularly those of Kant and Fichte — and developed his own version of idealism. He claimed that nothing is real except what we perceive, and therefore we must begin by analyzing our perceptions to understand the nature of reality. To Hegel, there are two kinds of objects: material objects that exist independently of us, and immaterial objects that only exist when they become manifest in our mind. He believed that consciousness itself changes as a part of human evolution and that reality is a dynamic historical process conceived through the ‘Spirit’ or collective consciousness.
He rejected the notion of a thing in itself, arguing that all objects exist only insofar as they appear to us, and thus are nothing other than representations of something else. For him, there is no objective or unchangeable reality separate from human perception, but rather an organic unity between man and nature. He held that the essence of reality lies in the mind or spirit, and the external world is simply what is expressed through the mind. Thus the world is not really made up of physical entities like atoms or electrons, but of mental ones – concepts and ideas. Our knowledge of this world comes to us through reason and language. There is therefore no distinction between mind and matter since both are equally expressions of the same essential being.
