Harmony or Tension?

Is there an end to our struggle?

Hegel thinks that history is a story of progress. Struggle is a part of life, but it is also a means to a higher synthesis. As the psalmist puts it, “There is crying all night, but joy comes in the morning.” In Hegel, there is a future in which all are winners even if it takes a while to get there.

His student, Kierkegaard, by contrast, thinks that life…