Hegel's desk

After Hegel's death in 1831, the desk passed from hand to hand in Berlin, gradually losing its historical splendour. It ended up at the Elisabeth Clinic in Berlin-Schöneberg, where Hegel's widow worked. In 1843, the philosopher's followers complained in the 'Morgenblatt für gebildete Leser' that the desk, on which Hegel had written 'immortal works', was being used as a 'kitchen table' in the clinic's larder. Only in the mid-1990s did the desk finally return to the Humboldt University, where Hegel had held the chair of Johann Gottlieb Fichte and later became rector.

"On this table, Hegel probably wrote the Lineamenti di filosofia del diritto," Becchi explains. It was 1820, two years after his arrival in Berlin. The philosopher imagines Hegel sitting at this table, surrounded by dozens of books and scattered papers. This is how philosophers often are: messy in practice, tidy in theory.

At 70, Becchi is retiring and looking back on a life marked by great thinkers such as Kant and Hegel. The philosopher has travelled a long academic path: from a position as an assistant at the University of Saarland, to fellowships first at the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst then at the Alexander von Humboldt Stiftung, to a chair in Philosophy of Law at the University of Genoa. In Saarbrücken, he worked with Karl-Heinz Ilting, dealing with Hegelian lectures on the philosophy of law. Ilting, a renowned Hegel scholar, was the first to fully recognise the importance of Hegel's lectures on the philosophy of law.

TheLineamenti di filosofia del diritto is not only a fundamental work of legal philosophy, but also a key text for understanding how Hegel conceived the state as a synthesis of ancient philosophy and modern natural law. The state is a political community that respects individual freedom.

Hegel's thought, however, was never easy to understand. In particular, he conceived the state not as the product of power structures, but as an expression of the cultural and national development of a people. For Hegel, the state in general was a product of modernity and represented the concretisation of the individual's freedom within a political community.

"Shortly after Hegel's arrival in Berlin, the Deliberates of Karlsbad were adopted," Becchi explains, as he stares at his desk as if searching for answers among the wood grain.

The Karlsbad Deliberations of 1819 were repressive measures designed to combat liberal, nationalist and democratic movements by tightening censorship and controlling universities in particular. In this climate of oppression, Hegel wrote his Lineamenti di filosofia del diritto, and this work was also subject to censorship.

"You could say that we had two Hegels at the time," Becchi continues. "One esoteric and one exoteric. Hegel, in fact, in his printed works, adapted to censorship, but in his lectures and talks with students he held much more liberal positions. "Yes, he was liberal. Not a reactionary, but an advocate of a parliamentary monarchy,' the philosopher states with conviction.

"Hegel believed that the state would push modernity forward and that it could only exist on a national level," Becchi explains. "Hegel rejected Kant's idea of a world state, as this represented a universal and abstract vision, whereas men have a concrete sense of appearance. The modern state was the result of the historical development of a people, not a global system. 'One could say that Hegel was the first anti-globalist,' Becchi adds.

For the philosopher of law, that desk is not just a piece of furniture, but a symbol. The desk now sits between a green sofa and a bookcase, surrounded by a myriad of books and three cartons. Above it is a famous lithograph by Julius Ludwig Sebbers depicting Hegel at that very desk. A small sign reads: 'Desk of G. W. F. Hegel, on loan from the Elisabeth Clinic', with the warning: 'Please do not put anything down'.

"This is a relic of extraordinary importance," Becchi says, his voice full of emotion. "I would display such an object in a museum, or at least in a showcase here at Humboldt University, so that everyone can admire it." He also proposes the idea of a ceremony to celebrate the object, an event he would be happy to attend.

For the philosopher, the desk is not just an artefact of the past, but something that reminds him of Hegel, a classic of thought. When Becchi caresses the surface of the desk, he seems not only to feel the wood, but also the weight of what was written there. "Through this story, this desk comes to life. It is no longer just an object,' he concludes, as he takes leave of the thing with one last look.

The author of the text, Franz Becchi, is the son of Prof Paolo Becchi and a journalist for the Berliner Zeitung. Copyright Berliner Zeitung