The End of History

In this episode, Ryan and Todd discuss the so-called "End of History" in Hegel's thought. Francis Fukuyama's 1989 essay "The End of History?" thrust Hegel unexpectedly into mainstream political conversation. The first half of the episode discusses the legacy of Fukuyama's essay and considers how appropriate it is to regard the End of History as a purely Hegelian notion. The second half discusses issues with extracting any lesson--political or otherwise--from the publications collected as Hegel's lectures. Finally, Ryan and Todd offer their own takes on how to think the end in Hegel. Referenced in this episode: "The End of History and the Return of History" by Philip T. Grier from The Hegel Myths and Legends edited by Jon Stewart (not that one) BONUS CONTENT: Please check out good friend Russ Sbriglia's brilliant band Misconstruity . Pre-order the record if you're into it! There are all kinds of links on the webpage but here is the lead track available to stream on YouTube. Second thing, I (Ryan) was briefly featured on NPR's Academic Minute this week . None of what I say here will be particularly revelatory for the Why Theory audience but it's a cool thing I got to do and thought I'd share it. Thank you for your support!

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The End of History is an episode from Why Theory by Why Theory.

This episode is 01:13:42 long.

This episode was published on Aug 17, 2025.

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