--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Hegel, installed from above, by the…" description: "\"“Hegel, installed from above, by the powers that be, as the certified Great Philosopher, was a flat-headed, insipid, nauseating, illiterate charlatan w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f47/arthur-schopenhauer-226_philosophy_hegel-installed-from-above-by-the-powers_1269511.jpg" --- # Hegel, installed from above, by the powers that be, as the… ![“Hegel, installed from above, by the powers that be, as the certified Great Philosopher, was a flat-headed, insipid, nauseating, illiterate charlatan who reached the pinnacle of audacity in scribbling together and dishing up the craziest mystifying nonsense.” quote by Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f47/arthur-schopenhauer-226_philosophy_hegel-installed-from-above-by-the-powers_1269511.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f47/arthur-schopenhauer-226_philosophy_hegel-installed-from-above-by-the-powers_1269511.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f47/arthur-schopenhauer-226_philosophy_hegel-installed-from-above-by-the-powers_1269511.jpg) > ““Hegel, installed from above, by the powers that be, as the certified Great Philosopher, was a flat-headed, insipid, nauseating, illiterate charlatan who reached the pinnacle of audacity in scribbling together and dishing up the craziest mystifying nonsense.”” [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The critique dismisses Hegel as a pretentious, unintelligible philosopher lacking substance. **In simple terms:** Hegel is portrayed as a pretentious, nonsensical thinker. Key Takeaway Critically evaluate philosophical claims. Themes philosophy critique intellectual honesty Mood critical skeptical Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - academic debate - reading philosophy - teaching - public discourse Key Concepts skepticism authority meaninglessness Questions to Reflect On - What evidence supports this view? - Can you separate the ideas from the author? A Different Perspective Overly harsh attacks can undermine constructive dialogue. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Flat Headed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flat-headed-4063223/) [Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hegel/) [Hegel Installed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hegel-installed-4063222/) [Illiterate Charlatan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illiterate-charlatan-3355343/) [Nauseating Illiterate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nauseating-illiterate-3355341/) [Philosophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/philosophy/) ## Related quotes > [“Schopenhauer on Hegel: "A flat-headed, insipid, nauseating, illiterate charlatan.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/schopenhauer/schopenhauer-on-hegel-a-flat-headed-insipid-nauseating-illiterate/) [Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/schopenhauer/) > [The auspices for philosophy are bad if, when proceeding ostensibly on the investigation of truth, we start saying farewell to all uprightness, honesty and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/the-auspices-for-philosophy-are-bad-if-when-proceeding-ostensibly-on/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [There is more to be learnt from every page of David Hume than from the collected philosophical works of Hegel, Herbart, and Schleiermacher are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/there-is-more-to-be-learnt-from-every-page-of-david-hume-than-from/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [“If I were to say that the so-called philosophy of this fellow Hegel is a colossal piece of mystification which will yet provide posterity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/if-i-were-to-say-that-the-so-called-philosophy-of-this-fellow-hegel/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [In every page of David Hume, there is more to be learned than from Hegel's, Herbart's and Schleiermacher's complete philosophical works.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/in-every-page-of-david-hume-there-is-more-to-be-learned-than-from/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [“May Hegel's philosophy of absolute nonsense - three-fourths cash and one-fourth crazy fancies - continue to pass for unfathomable wisdom without anyone suggesting as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/may-hegel-s-philosophy-of-absolute-nonsense-three-fourths-cash-and/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [“For Hegel, reality is the absolute, which exists in a dialectical evolution that is logical and rational in character. According to his famous statement,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juli-n-mar-as/for-hegel-reality-is-the-absolute-which-exists-in-a-dialectical/) [Julián Marías](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juli-n-mar-as/) > [Contemporary philosophy illustrates Hegel's dictum that philosophy is its own time apprehended in thought, for in our age philosophy yields to the objectifying technical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-phillip-verene/contemporary-philosophy-illustrates-hegel-s-dictum-that-philosophy-is/) [Donald Phillip Verene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-phillip-verene/) > [“Yet mere membership as a matter of duty is not enough for Hegel, given the grandeur of the state’s divine historical purpose: “One must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-c-hicks/yet-mere-membership-as-a-matter-of-duty-is-not-enough-for-hegel-given/) [Stephen R.C. Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-c-hicks/) > [“Should you ever intend to dull the wits of a young man and to incapacitate his brains for any kind of thought whatever, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-r-popper/should-you-ever-intend-to-dull-the-wits-of-a-young-man-and-to/) [Karl R. Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-r-popper/) > [“My application's not bought,' I am telling them, calling into the darkness of the red cave that opens out before closed eyes. 'I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/my-application-s-not-bought-i-am-telling-them-calling-into-the/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [At the present moment, the security of coherent philosophy, which existed from Parmenides to Hegel, is lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-jaspers/at-the-present-moment-the-security-of-coherent-philosophy-which/) [Karl Jaspers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-jaspers/) > [People are mostly sane enough, of course, in the affairs of common life: the getting of food, shelter, and so on. But the moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-stove/people-are-mostly-sane-enough-of-course-in-the-affairs-of-common-life/) [David Stove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-stove/) > [That Hegel's theory is derivative from Fichte's does not prevent it from being strikingly original and of independent value.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-w-wood/that-hegel-s-theory-is-derivative-from-fichte-s-does-not-prevent-it/) [Allen W. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-w-wood/) > [“For Hegel , by contrast, liberal society is a reciprocal and equal agreement among citizens to mutually recognize each other”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-fukuyama/for-hegel-by-contrast-liberal-society-is-a-reciprocal-and-equal/) [Francis Fukuyama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-fukuyama/) ## More by Arthur Schopenhauer > [Virtue is as little to be acquired by learning as genius; nay, the idea is barren, and is only to be employed as an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/virtue-is-as-little-to-be-acquired-by-learning-as-genius-nay-the-idea/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [“In accordance with such zeal, by reducing the external world to a matter of faith, he wanted merely to open a little door for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/in-accordance-with-such-zeal-by-reducing-the-external-world-to-a/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [That human life must be some kind of mistake is sufficiently proved by the simple observation that man is a compound of needs which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/that-human-life-must-be-some-kind-of-mistake-is-sufficiently-proved/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [“Imitation and custom are the spring of almost all human action. The cause of it is that men fight shy of all and any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/imitation-and-custom-are-the-spring-of-almost-all-human-action-the/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [ \[T\]he appropriate form of address between man and man ought to be, not monsieur, sir, but fellow sufferer, compagnon de miseres. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/t-he-appropriate-form-of-address-between-man-and-man-ought-to-be-not/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [The eternal being..., as it lives in us, also lives in every animal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/the-eternal-being-as-it-lives-in-us-also-lives-in-every-animal/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [there are very few who can think, but every man wants to have an opinion; and what remains but to take it ready-made from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/there-are-very-few-who-can-think-but-every-man-wants-to-have-an/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [It is not what things are objectively and in themselves, but what they are for us, in our way of looking at them, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/it-is-not-what-things-are-objectively-and-in-themselves-but-what-they/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [ “\[Materialism\] seeks the primary and most simple state of matter, and then tries to develop all the others from it; ascending from mere mechanism,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/materialism-seeks-the-primary-and-most-simple-state-of-matter-and/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [In order to increase his pleasures, man has intentionally added to the number and pressure of his needs, which in their original state were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/in-order-to-increase-his-pleasures-man-has-intentionally-added-to-the/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [“For the will, as that which is common to all, is for that reason also common: consequently, every vehement emergence of will is common,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/for-the-will-as-that-which-is-common-to-all-is-for-that-reason-also/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [“Alles Urdenken geschieht in Bildern: darum ist die Phantasie ein so nothwendiges Werkzeug desselben, und werden phantasielose Köpfe nie etwas Großes leisten, - es…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/alles-urdenken-geschieht-in-bildern-darum-ist-die-phantasie-ein-so/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [Intellect is invisible to the man who has none.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/intellect-is-invisible-to-the-man-who-has-none/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [Newspapers are the second hand of history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/newspapers-are-the-second-hand-of-history/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [“In travelling where novelties of all kinds press in upon us, mental food is often supplied so rapidly from without that there is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/in-travelling-where-novelties-of-all-kinds-press-in-upon-us-mental/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) [Explore all 791 Arthur Schopenhauer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) ## More Hegel quotes > [“For Hegel , by contrast, liberal society is a reciprocal and equal agreement among citizens to mutually recognize each other”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-fukuyama/for-hegel-by-contrast-liberal-society-is-a-reciprocal-and-equal/) [Francis Fukuyama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-fukuyama/) > [That Hegel's theory is derivative from Fichte's does not prevent it from being strikingly original and of independent value.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-w-wood/that-hegel-s-theory-is-derivative-from-fichte-s-does-not-prevent-it/) [Allen W. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-w-wood/) > [People are mostly sane enough, of course, in the affairs of common life: the getting of food, shelter, and so on. But the moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-stove/people-are-mostly-sane-enough-of-course-in-the-affairs-of-common-life/) [David Stove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-stove/) > [At the present moment, the security of coherent philosophy, which existed from Parmenides to Hegel, is lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-jaspers/at-the-present-moment-the-security-of-coherent-philosophy-which/) [Karl Jaspers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-jaspers/) > [“My application's not bought,' I am telling them, calling into the darkness of the red cave that opens out before closed eyes. 'I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/my-application-s-not-bought-i-am-telling-them-calling-into-the/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“Should you ever intend to dull the wits of a young man and to incapacitate his brains for any kind of thought whatever, then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-r-popper/should-you-ever-intend-to-dull-the-wits-of-a-young-man-and-to/) [Karl R. Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-r-popper/) > [“Yet mere membership as a matter of duty is not enough for Hegel, given the grandeur of the state’s divine historical purpose: “One must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-c-hicks/yet-mere-membership-as-a-matter-of-duty-is-not-enough-for-hegel-given/) [Stephen R.C. Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-c-hicks/) > [Contemporary philosophy illustrates Hegel's dictum that philosophy is its own time apprehended in thought, for in our age philosophy yields to the objectifying technical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-phillip-verene/contemporary-philosophy-illustrates-hegel-s-dictum-that-philosophy-is/) [Donald Phillip Verene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-phillip-verene/) > [“For Hegel, reality is the absolute, which exists in a dialectical evolution that is logical and rational in character. According to his famous statement,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juli-n-mar-as/for-hegel-reality-is-the-absolute-which-exists-in-a-dialectical/) [Julián Marías](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juli-n-mar-as/) > [“Ever since Hegel, world history, in contrast to historia , seems to be precisely what one has not seen and experienced, inquired after and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-l-with/ever-since-hegel-world-history-in-contrast-to-historia-seems-to-be/) [Karl Löwith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-l-with/) > [The fact is that philosophy has been a decisive source of inspiration in all the great crises that Europe has faced. It has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roberto-esposito/the-fact-is-that-philosophy-has-been-a-decisive-source-of-inspiration/) [Roberto Esposito](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roberto-esposito/) > [“The mystery of this courage of Bauer’s is Hegel’s Phenomenology. As Hegel here puts self-consciousness in the place of man, the most varied human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/the-mystery-of-this-courage-of-bauer-s-is-hegel-s-phenomenology-as/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [“The fascist appeal to ‘human nature’ is to our passions, to our collectivist mystical needs, to ‘man the unknown’. Adopting Hegel’s words just quoted,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-r-popper/the-fascist-appeal-to-human-nature-is-to-our-passions-to-our/) [Karl R. Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-r-popper/) > [Fichte is a necessary step to both Hegel and Marx.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-w-wood/fichte-is-a-necessary-step-to-both-hegel-and-marx/) [Allen W. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-w-wood/) > [“Once the world of ideas has been transformed, reality cannot hold out for long. Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-holland/once-the-world-of-ideas-has-been-transformed-reality-cannot-hold-out/) [Tom Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-holland/) [Browse all 142 Hegel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hegel/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Hegel, installed from above, by the powers that be, as the certified Great Philosopher, was a flat-headed, insipid, nauseating, illiterate charlatan who reached the pinnacle of audacity in scribbling together and dishing up the craziest mystifying nonsense.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Arthur Schopenhauer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/hegel-installed-from-above-by-the-powers-that-be-as-the-certified/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Hegel" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/hegel-installed-from-above-by-the-powers-that-be-as-the-certified/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f47/arthur-schopenhauer-226_philosophy_hegel-installed-from-above-by-the-powers_1269511.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f47/arthur-schopenhauer-226_philosophy_hegel-installed-from-above-by-the-powers_1269511.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f47/arthur-schopenhauer-226_philosophy_hegel-installed-from-above-by-the-powers_1269511.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Hegel, installed from above, by the powers that be, as the certified Great Philosopher, was a flat-headed…” — Arthur Schopenhauer", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Arthur Schopenhauer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Hegel, installed from above, by the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/hegel-installed-from-above-by-the-powers-that-be-as-the-certified/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/hegel-installed-from-above-by-the-powers-that-be-as-the-certified/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```