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234

The relations of external existence fall within the infinity of the understanding; there is therefore no boundary in itself for what is harmful or not harmful, nor, with regard to crime, for what is suspicious or unsuspicious, what is to be forbidden or supervised, or spared prohibition, supervision, suspicion, inquiry, and the rendering of account. It is custom, the spirit of the rest of the constitution, the particular condition of the moment, the danger of the moment, and so on, that provide the more precise determinations.

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2 responses to “234”

  1. Eduard Gans (Additions) Avatar
    Eduard Gans (Additions)

    No fixed determinations can be given here, and no absolute boundaries can be drawn. Everything here is personal; subjective opinion comes into play, and the spirit of the constitution, the danger of the times, must supply the more particular circumstances. In times of war, for example, many things otherwise harmless are to be regarded as harmful. Through these aspects of contingency and arbitrary personal judgment, the police acquire something odious. Given a highly cultivated reflection, they can take the direction of drawing everything possible into their sphere, for in everything a connection can be found through which something might become harmful. In this the police can proceed very pedantically and inconvenience the ordinary life of individuals. But whatever inconvenience this may be, an objective boundary line cannot be drawn here.

  2. Hegel (Simple) Avatar
    Hegel (Simple)

    § 234: No fixed boundary

    What is harmful, and what is not? What is suspicious? What should we forbid or supervise? And what should we leave in peace?

    There is no fixed boundary for this. The relations between things are endless. Almost anything can do harm in some way.

    Who decides, then?

    Custom, the spirit of the constitution, the condition of the time, the danger of the moment. In war, some things are harmful that are harmless in peace.

    The dark side:

    So there is something hateful about the police. Much depends on the opinion of single officials. And the police can tend to pull everything to themselves. For in everything, you can find a possible danger. So they can become petty and make life hard for people.

    That is an evil. But here we cannot draw an objective boundary line.

    Summary: We cannot fix firmly what the police should forbid. Custom, the constitution and the condition of the time decide. So the police can become petty and hated.

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