Was Hegel right to say that we are either master or slave?

Question

Can we ever have truly equal relationships?

Answer 1

The choice isn't between master or slave. It is between a master-slave relationship and an equal relationship between two self-conscious beings.

The equal relationship occurs when two self-conscious beings look at each other and both say, "You are an independent, self conscious being" to the other. This is a hard thing to achieve because it represents quite a loss of power for the self-consciousness who admits this if the other admits nothing and many self-conscious beings don't want to take that chance.

The master-slave dialectic is set up when self-conscious being A intimidates self-conscious being B into saying A is an independent, self-conscious being without having to reciprocate.

Answer 2

The answers so far are mostly incomprehensible to me, so I thought I would chime in and see if we can't straighten some things out.

Hegel wasn't talking about men and women, or even "relationships," per se. He was talking about consciousness. The Master-Slave Dialectic is one way of answering the question "how did/does self-consciousness arise?"; it's a major part of "The Phenomenology of Spirit." In trying to apply Hegel's ideas to other areas, like relationships, psychology, or economics, we are making inferences which are prone to error. It could be that applying Hegel's thought to the analysis of capital would produce something interesting and worthwhile, like Marxism and its derivative social/economic philosophies, but that doesn't mean that doing so would be justified by the original text.

The Master-Slave Dialectic is much too complex to be either "right" or "wrong." It's sort of like asking whether Germany is right or wrong; right and wrong aren't really applicable words here. However, if you've got to make a reductive, Boolean choice, it's much easier to suppose that Hegel was right in saying that we are always either masters or slaves than that he was wrong. In a metaphorical sense, we are likely each both a master and a slave. Every time we interact with someone else, we are affected by power dynamics, often unconsciously. Can you imagine a situation where you have power over no-one else, and no-one has power over you? You would have to live in complete solitude and be totally independent, either that or create a peaceful anarchy. It's inconceivable.

Answer 3

He may have been.
For we can be master or slave to others,as everyone knows;
but we can also be masters or slaves to their ideas-and thus
our work.
Take Darwinism for instance,we either be masters of it or slaves of it.To be the best may be something we never want,or wanted;but we may have been trained or shown
that to become anything other than first is unacceptable.So
we reluctantly accept that dawinism must be the best-the only
training that lights up the faint future;and we can be shown that anyone who holds an opposite view is to be avoided(as
previously answered). Thus an elite is formed,and as it is
criticized more and more it becomes an "elite".
i think as time goes by, darwinism must become more equitable to the world around;it will change under people's
expectation;thus the majority non-elite will change this master
theory.
i also think that its quite plain that it will never equal another
rival theory,for there is only ever one best one.
In this unequal relationship we must look to the rivals who are
not quite concidered the best,and with time we could see
even our personal relationships this way too.

Answer 4

If you can get around that I don't know what Hegel said...

I think there are some relationships that are more equal than others. You know yourself, you can be with one person and seem to be in agreement with much of what they say! It is so refreshing! Then "Exit" is all you can think of with others.

Equality is a strange expectation. Take the male, female mind. Walk into Home Depot and walk into a man's mind...walk into a fashion boutique...the feminine mind...different worlds cannot be equalized very easily.

I think we are slave-like when we are closed to differences and Masters when we can be appropriate to what the person/situation needs.

Answer 5

Wrong. Today most people are both at some point in their day. In relationships, there is give and take. They can't be equal, as people are different and have separate needs and goals

Answer 6

I agree with drew, I read the article and I don't think you could really falsify this kind of theory, and it is making a different point entirely to what has been discussed here.

Answer 7

no.
even if you are master you are your own slave