German classical philosophy is the philosophy of the late 18th and first third of the 19th century represented by such prominent German philosophers as Kant, Hegel, Feuerbach, Schelling, who reflected on the meaning of life. German classical philosophy is an important milestone in the development of philosophical thinking and philosophy in general. This philosophy developed and continued the ideas of the New Age, which affirmed humanism, faith, the unlimited power of the human mind and human rights. The most important discovery of this philosophy is Hegel's dialectical philosophy, which justified the eternal development of the world.
German classical philosophy reflected both the formation and development of capitalist society, and the realities of the historical features of Germany at that time. The bourgeoisie, whose ideologists were all representatives of German classical philosophy, was significantly behind the European countries in socio-economic and political development. This was due to the fact that until the end of the 18th century Germany was not a whole state, but was divided into 300 different sovereign units, some of which were very small. The capitalist market was in its infancy.
The welfare of the bourgeoisie of Germany depended entirely on the orders of the nobles and the crown, supplies for the needs of the army. Dutifully lagging behind politics, she was weak and melancholy. Which is quite clearly reflected in German philosophy.
Representatives of classical philosophy in their writings directly speak of the dual nature of the bourgeoisie of Germany, its compromise and sometimes even contradictory nature.
German classical philosophy was significantly different from the philosophy of other European countries. So in France, the works of philosophers were burned, and the philosophers themselves were planted in the Bastille. And in Germany, despite the criticality of the ruling power and the hostility of philosophical judgments, philosophers calmly printed their works, which no one forbade, taught at universities and recognized as mentors of German youths. Although, despite their hostility to the authorities, they did not fight with it and its institutions. Ideal philosophers saw that Germany was hopelessly behind other developed countries, remaining medieval in its structure.
The dialectical method worked out by Hegel could easily be used at any moment against the ruling power. Radically-minded professors at the University of Berlin soon did so.
Hegel, who is truly the largest and most significant representative of German philosophy, developed the dialectic method based on idealism. He develops the idea as the fundamental principle of the world, which is and develops in various phenomena of reality and the historical process. Hegel argues that the idea develops in three stages and at each stage has its own form. On this basis, Hegelian philosophy is divided into 3 sections: logic, philosophy of nature and philosophy of spirit.
In the philosophy of spirit, Hegel considers culture and its significance. And in it he considers art as the embodiment of ideas in images of the sensual and concrete. Architecture is ranked as the leading art form.
The German architecture of Gothic cathedrals has long been considered the embodiment of the German spirit. Although the homeland of Gothic is Northern France, it quickly spread to Central Europe.
Cologne Cathedral is the creative reaction of the Germans to French Gothic. If in France Gothic cathedrals were built in the same style with slight differences, then Cologne Cathedral is very different from all the others. Although much later, many of the finds used in the construction of the cathedral were used in the new buildings of the Gothic style.