Thought And Reality: A Critical Study Of Hegel's Philosophy

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Dr. K. Dhirendro Ramsiej was born In 1958 at Sakwang Village in West Khasi Hills, Meghalaya. He had his early education in his village and then graduated from Shillong College, Shillong, and completed his M.A. in Philosophy, M. Phil. and Ph. D. from North Eastern Hill University, Shillong. He was the founder Principal of Sngap Syiem College. Mawkyrwat, West Khasi Hills, Meghalaya, and served therefrom 1985 to 1987. He then joined as Lecturer in the Department of Philosophy, Shillong College, Shillong, in 1987 and continued with the academic job with distinction till he joined as the Principal of the same College on 1st July, 2011, and continues to serve in the same post till date. He was also the founder Secretary of Nongpathaw Secondary School, Nongpathaw village, Meghalaya, and also Seven Huts Secondary School, Mawlai Umthong, Shillong. He has contributed many articles and also the author of the books: "A Guide to Logic", "Ka Mariang Ha U Khasi", "Ki Khubor ka Jingim", "Khasi Philosophy of Nature" etc. He is currently a member of the following institutions: John Robert Theological Seminary, Mawklot; Synod College, Shillong; Academic Council, North Eastern Hill University; The Khasi Authors' Society; The Gideons International in India; Chairman of Cluster Resource Centre: S.S.A. Mawmih Area, and Joint Forest Management, Nongpathaw Area. He also served as the President of Meghalaya College Teachers' Association from 2005 to 2010.

This work on Hegel is an attempt to re-appreciate Hegel's Philosophy. Philosophy of Hegel, the great German idealistic philosopher throughout the ages has been appreciated, depreciated and also denounced. The logical positivists and even majority of philosophers belonging to analytical tradition do not seem to recognize Hegel's contribution.

Moreover, the author has very clearly explained Hegel's thesis that Reality and Thought are integrally connected. The author has tried to decipher the meaning and context of what has been said by Hegel. He has argued out in detail how Hegel was anticipated by Wittgenstein both in early and later. In the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus as well as in Philosophical Investigations, Wittgenstein develops the thesis that Language, Meanings, Thought and Reality form a complex. Dr. Ramsiej has argued cogently how the ideas of Hegel is similar to those of Wittgenstein.

I have a great pleasure to write a foreword for the work: Thought and Reality: A Critical Study of Hegel. The work was submitted to the North Eastern Hill University, Shillong for a degree and Shri K.D. Ramsiej has been awarded the degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

Ramsiej has made a humble attempt to critically examine and interpret Hegel's Philosophy and has been very successful in the attempt.

It is usually believed that Hegel's Philosophy is very difficult to grasp and understand very rarely in Indian Universities. Researchers take cognizance of Hegel. In spite of the fact that Ramsiej hails from relatively inaccessible part of India yet the attempt is laudable.

Ramsiej, following the footprints of J.N. Findlay, has put Hegel in contemporary idioms. As a result heavily metaphysically laden concepts such as mind, thought, idea, thesis, anti-thesis, synthesis and last but not the least dialectic appear in clear light. Ramsiej's training in analytical philosophy and conceptual analysis has helped him a lot in this regard.

Ramsiej vehemently argues and agrees with sufficient arguments that the understanding has to be dialectical in the end. Understanding is a conceptual process and to understand means to decipher concepts. In the process the so-called object gets conceptualized and idealized. This is what Wittgenstein advocated in Philosophical Investigation. Understanding without concepts and ideas is impossible. In this sense only thought and reality get so much interrelated and that it becomes almost impossible to detach them from each other. The dictum 'real is rational and rational is real' has to be understood. Further, himself being a tribal (Khasi) and a keen student of tribal culture, Ramsiej has discovered the Khasi integrated view of nature in Hegel. He has argued in detail how Hegel's view of Nature closely resembles the Khasi view of Nature prevalent in oral tradition in the Khasi land.

It is a well written work with exhaustive bibliography. The language used is very simple and straightforward. I hope it will provide an interesting reading to the researchers in the Hegelian Philosophy and general readers as well.

**Contents and Sample Pages**