Full Idea
The assertion that human beings cannot know the truth, but have to do only with appearances …deprives the spirit of intellectual dignity.
Gist of Idea
It is a rejection of intellectual dignity to say that we cannot know the truth
Source
Georg W.F.Hegel (Elements of the Philosophy of Right [1821], 132)
Book Reference
Hegel,Georg W.F.: 'Elements of the Philosophy of Right', ed/tr. Wood,Allen W. [CUP 1991], p.159
A Reaction
It is a relief to find Hegel making this assertion. His later followers seem to have slid into an extreme cultural relativism. I'm not sure that 'intellectual dignity' is a very secure foundation for his claim.