|34| The absolute determination, or, if one prefers, the absolute drive, of the free spirit (§ 21) is that its freedom should be its object – objective in the sense that it is the rational system of itself, and in the sense that this should be immediate actuality (§ 26) – in order that it may be, for itself, as Idea, what the will is in itself: the abstract concept of the Idea of the will is, in general, the free will which wills the free will.
[zu § 27] Rational system — developed concept
immediate actuality – α) in the subject — β) universal validity in all subjects
§ 27: The free will that wants the free will
Now we can say what this whole book is about.
The free spirit has a deepest drive: It wants to have its freedom before it. It does not just want to sense it or feel it. It wants to see it as something that really exists.
Having freedom before it in this way has two sides. First, freedom should form a rational order, a whole worked out in thought. Second, this order should really exist, in the world and in each individual, and it should hold for everyone.
What is all this for? The will is free in its potential; we have known that for a long time. Now it should also become what it already is in its potential. It should become this in reality and knowingly.
From this comes the shortest formula: The free will wants the free will.
This sounds like a play on words. But we mean it exactly. The will does not look for a foreign goal. What it wants is what it is itself: freedom. So whoever is free in this way also wants freedom to hold good, for himself and for others.
Summary: The whole introduction leads up to one sentence: The free will wants the free will. Everything that follows shows how this freedom becomes real in the world: in right, in morality and in ethical life.
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