Hegel tells us that there are three different ways to study history.
There's original history, which is like an eye-witness testimony. It is recorded in real time, so although it leans towards the viewpoint of the person witnessing it, it also has no first person assessments of what it means, because its effects aren't known yet. An example of an original historian would be Herodotus, whose writings were informative but largely personal.
Then there is reflective history. This is written some time after an event, so that it's effects can be seen and taken into context with the event itself. This is Hegel's least favorite type of history because it almost always includes some element of bias, according to the identity of the historian and their position on political and world events.
Hegel believes in philosophical history, because the historian has to set their own opinions and feelings aside, and instead seek out the overall intentions and ideas of the people involved, rather than imposing their own preconceptions on the events.
Now that Hegel has introduced the subject of philosophy into his lectures on history, he expounds on this theme. He focuses specifically o the way in which theodicy asserts its importance, reconciling divine providence, or God's intervention, with the evils that have been done by man. He believes that everything that happens is governed by design, and in this way, the study of history itself becomes a study of truth and reason. The study of history is not meant to be a pleasurable pursuit; in fact, Hegel believes that periods of happiness in history are worthless when it comes to studying it.
To understand history, we must first understand the intentions for the world - the bigger picture. To understand evil, we have to understand the reason for it. In this way Hegel does not believe that evil exists in a vacuum, or as a psychological condition that just happens for no reason at all. World history represents the spiritual development of mankind - in short, as Maya Angelou once said, "when we know better, we do better". Hegel believes that by studying ancient cultures and civilizations, and studying the developments that they have made as they move into their own future, The downfall to this is that Hegel needed to rely upon the European study of Ancient Civilizations, presenting him with the same kind of cultural bias that he specifically rails against in earlier lectures. However, if he sees this irony, he does not mention it, and he chastises those historians who discount ancient cultures and their philosophies purely because they happen to not be European.
Hegel rounds out his lectures with a discourse on freedom. He maintains that history bears witness to the fact that freedom is not granted to everyone, and that despotism, where a single person rules with absolute power, is a situation that destroys the principles of humanity. He concludes that the most fair and beneficial situation for man is a constitutional monarchy, with a monarch embodying the spirit of fairness and freedom for all, whilst acting as a kind of pastoral carer for his or her citizens. For Hegel, history, and progress, begins in the East (China, Persia) and culminates in the West (Germany).
Hegel also contradicts his former view of the value of empirical history, when he closes his lectures by suggesting that history changes according to one's own views and experiences.
