THE ASSASSINATION OF KOTZEBUE AND HEGEL'S PHILOSOPHY OF RIGHT

In this article, I argue that the sensational 1819 murder of the famous playwright August von Kotzebue by Karl Sand, a student of theology and fraternity member, left its mark on Hegel's Philosophy ofRight. I demonstrate how Hegel incorporated an elaborate discussion of the incident and its background into his work of 1820 and reconstruct Hegel's judgment of Sand's action, drawing on lecture transcripts and contemporary sources, in particular a publication by his assistant Carove. Especially the remarks on 540 are clearly the result of Hegel's thorough engagement with Kotzebue's murder and the public response to it, as I show with reference to discussions surrounding Jesuit moral philosophy, the notion of 'the end justifies the means', and the writings of Fries and de Wette. Kotzebue's murder thus had a far greater impact on Hegel's work than is usually recognised and must be seen as a direct context for the composition of the Philosophy of Right.