Read the passage and answer the questions:
The truth of the self-conscious individual lies not in its immediate certainty, but in the dialectical movement of its becoming. Consciousness, in its pursuit of knowledge, initially assumes that its object is something external and independent. Yet, through the labor of experience, it discovers that this object is not truly separate but is mediated by consciousness itself. The apparent duality of subject and object is thus sublated in the dialectic, revealing that knowledge is not the passive reception of an external truth but an active process in which consciousness shapes and transforms its own reality. This movement unfolds through a series of contradictions, in which each stage of consciousness, believing itself to have attained certainty, encounters its own inadequacy. The master-slave dialectic exemplifies this: self-consciousness seeks recognition from another, yet in asserting its dominance over the other, it paradoxically undermines its own freedom. The master, in reducing the slave to a mere instrument, deprives himself of a fully realized recognition. Meanwhile, the slave, through labor and self-transformation, attains a deeper awareness of autonomy, demonstrating that freedom is not given but achieved through negation and overcoming.
What paradox does Hegel highlight through the master-slave dialectic?
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Explanation
Correct Answer
That the master loses recognition by denying the slave's autonomy
Explanation
The passage explicitly states that the master seeks recognition from another person to validate his own self-consciousness. However, by reducing the slave to a "mere instrument" and denying their humanity or autonomy, the master can no longer receive meaningful, fully realized recognition. A master cannot be truly validated by someone he views as less than human, which paradoxically undermines his own freedom and purpose.
Key Points
The Paradox: The master demands recognition but destroys the only entity capable of genuinely giving it by enslaving them.
Textual Evidence: "The master, in reducing the slave to a mere instrument, deprives himself of a fully realized recognition."