How did Hegel believe ideas develop?

For Hegel, ideas are the underlying reality of the universe. History then is the progress of ideas shaping the actions of individuals and communities. Ideas themselves, Hegel believed, were the products of consciousness. Hegel termed consciousness as an active force in the universe as Spirit, which he also identified with God.

Hegel had quite a difficult and complex theory as to how consciousness and ideas develop. The explanation that Hegel offers is called the 'dialectic'. The basic idea of the dialectic is that given a limited standpoint, the only way it is possible to come to a fuller conscious understanding is to consider the limitations presented as a basis to investigate further. The dialectic then is like a conversation and, in fact, has traditionally been the term used to describe argumentation.

Sometimes the process has been described as 'thesis' which is an initial presentation, 'anti-thesis' the contending position where the limitations are pointed out and another perspective is offered, 'synthesis' where these two standpoints come together to offer a deeper understanding and a fuller development of the idea.

This tension and resolution among standpoints is the basic process that Hegel ascribed to change generally in the universe and especially to the movement and actuality of consciousness or ideas.