Discovering Hegel: from Philosophy to social Theory (Part-III)

Analyzing the Philosophical work of G.W Hegel

Findlay, J. N. (1958). Hegel: A re-examination. London: Allen & Unwin

Hegel, G. W. F., Baillie, J. B., & Lichtheim, G. (1967). The phenomenology of mind. New York: Harper & Row

Hegel and Von Goethe

Hegel was influenced from the writings of Goethe, as Hegel called Goethe’s ‘Primary Phenomenon’ as the ‘philosophical abstraction’ because it isolates itself. Basically, Goethe’s primary phenomenon is based on observation. What Hegel told Goethe?

“Your High Excellency may call your procedure in the pursuit of natural phenomenon as naïve method; I believe I may yield sufficiently to my faculty as to see and admire therein the abstraction by the means of which you have held fast to the simple, basic truth, only inquiring after conditions, discovering them, and throwing them into relief”.

Goethe only focused on ‘Simple observational relationship”, which he elevated it to the level of thought and made it permanent. It is a fact that throughout history wine has played a major role in the discovery of the ‘Spirit of nature’. In contrast, it was the ‘trans-substantiation of thought into phenomenon and phenomenon into thought—perhaps, it is a reality that the understanding of the phenomenon comes from the ‘Intellectual breadth’. Goethe called the simple and abstract objects as the primary phenomenon. But, this phenomenon arises from the concrete manifestation of the complex processes. In this regard, Hegel interprets Goethe’s Primary phenomenon under the aspects of essence (Wesen). On one occasion, Hegel told Goethe:

“Your High Excellency, Primary phenomenon proves immensely useful; in this twilight, both worlds greet each other: our abstruse world and phenomenal existence—intellectually and conceptually through its simplicity, visibly or sensibly through its sensuousness”.

For Hegel, then, Goethe’s idea did not assume the status of an idea, rather an entity between the intellectual and sensual, mediating between pure essential concepts and the accidental appearance of the sensual world. For Hegel, Goethe threatened the natural philosophy.[1]

On the contrary, both Goethe and Hegel had criticized bad Metaphysicians such as Newton, who did not push on to a concrete notion; rather a subordinate abstract rules to the empirical facts. Hegel had always a friendly attitude towards the primary phenomenon—in [2]contrast; Goethe’s theory of color was mainly empirical and was not induced with the notion of intuition. Likewise, in the latter context, Hegel viewed the spirit of Christianity in the context of ‘Absolute’ in the history of Europe—the major difference between Goethe and Hegel.

Goethe’s Rejection of Hegel’s association of reason with Cross

Throughout his life, Hegel tried his best to mediate between philosophy and theology. There is a regal from the seventeenth century with the portraits of high Roman Cleric; upon the reverse, theologia and philosophia; two noble women standing opposite to each other, the relationship is so beautiful and conceived. Moreover, it is a fact that for a Millennia, the name of God was used to ruin and destroy reason—those who died fighting this ignorance are the Martyrs. Basically, Hegel was genius, who mediated between philosophy and religion. Likewise, Goethe from the very beginning attempted to mediate between religion and philosophy because for Goethe Christianity has no business in philosophy.

In this regard, the amalgamation of reason of philosophy with the theology of cross—Hegel calls reason a rouse within a cross of reason. [3] In this manner, Hegel has developed the concept of the unity of philosophical reason and the Christian cross.

Goethe’s association of humanity with cross

Goethe’s association of humanity with cross can be understood in Lessing’s famous parable; “the eternal duration of an elevated human condition”. Basically, it was Christianity whom Goethe called ‘the pure humanity’. The riddle manifests—the roses lend softness to the rude woods. For Goethe, it is through Christianity, self-liberation and self-conquest is possible. Moreover, it was through humanism; Goethe tried to secularize Christianity. Through the festival of holy week, he inherited the concept of humanistic Good Friday. In this way, Goethe tries to absorb Christianity into humanity through the concept of ‘Pure Humanity’—likewise; it was Goethe, who finally incorporated the concept of theology as the study of philosophy of religion, comparative study of religion and as the anthropology of religion.

Hegelian Phenomenology

In the Hegelian scheme of philosophy; two notions must be taken into account.

1. What is notion dealt in the part of a question?
2. How is the development of content of that notion to be expressed in terms of the peculiar character of the notion of question?

In the latter discourse, philosophy itself is the factor in the life-history of human experience of the mind. Moreover, the whole phenomenology of mind contains the system of philosophy. Philosophy as a human effort expresses the ultimate notion of the absolute is the subject to the condition of race, culture and civilization in the midst of which it appears. It is the notion that makes philosophy to take on the historical character. In this regard, both history and philosophy becomes one subject. According to Hegel, this came through the logical development of philosophy and history. In this regard, the historical direction is the logical direction because there is one notion and one Absolute system that give birth to the historical sequence. Phenomenology focuses on the notion of Absolute that deems itself as the ultimate object of philosophy. Likewise, as a simple concrete, it cannot be broken up into separate components. Moreover, there is a need of continuous development in order to develop the content of the notion of Absolute. Thus, the comprehensive development of the notion of the absolute is the entire system of the philosophy of Absolute. In contrast, the very first aspect of this notion is universality, which means ‘Things-in-itself’ the notion as self-identical—it refers to the character of Universality and self-identity.

On the other hand, the second notion of the Absolute is the sheer opposite of the first as the aspect of pure dispersion, ‘the-notion-for-itself’—Out of itself, the notion of self-externalized. Basically, it is the differentiation within the one or the one resolved into self-externality. The Absolute in its aspect of the self-dispersion is the world of nature: organic and inorganic, as realized in space and time. [4] Here

1. Space is the universal objective unchanging form of permanence, which takes and holds within itself infinitely detailed content of nature.
2. Time is also a universal objective unchanging form of succession into which all the content of nature falls.

Perhaps, these forms are inseparable—hence every part and element of nature is in reality a unitary focus of time and space. Moreover, it is the time and space (the union) which gives birth to an event. In addition, the wholeness of nature itself is an absolute—which is often known as the Philosophy of Nature. In a nut shell, this is actually called as the philosophical development of notion in the form of self-externalization.

On the contrary, the third notion of the Absolute is the explicit union of the first (Pure universality) and the (the pure difference) in a synthesis, which avoids these abstract extremes and expresses the concreteness of the Absolute in its highest possible form. [5] Moreover, it contains the principles that give rise to the extremes. Basically, the combine function is one is that of mind or the spirit, which being essentially self-conscious that resembles the difference and distinction within itself. Likewise, the thing-in-itself and the-thing-for-itself is a mind and the notion is known as the philosophy of mind—the truth of the Absolute is revealed through and in philosophy. Basically, in the philosophy of mind deals with four stages/parts of mind as creating experience;

1. Mind is objective, as the source of social and moral activity.
2. Mind is expressing itself in the realm of Art.
3. Mind is realized in the life of religion i.e. Philosophy of law and aesthetics, and the philosophy of religion.
4. Mind as creating experience.

On the contrary, we have a social mind that develops experience, Art, religion and political order. In this regard, the philosophy of mind works through the medium of notion. For Hegel, the world is a unified whole, which maintains unity through endless multiplicity of real individuals. The life in man and nature—there is simply a contradiction that defines every aspect from every perspective. In contrast, the whole is the process ‘sub-specie temporis’, but a unified whole ‘sub-specie ateritatis’—basically, this unity is maintained through the process of its finite parts. For man, the solutions must be found in the highest individuality known to him. The finite being, which refers to human individual as realized self-conscious mind. Likewise, there are different phases of individuality—the self-conscious mind (spirit) perceives it in different phases. The singleness of being can only be realized through the function of combining difference in the unity. What Hegel said; “The being of mind is its act and its act is to be aware of itself”.

Similarly, the concept of essence can only be understood through expressions, the expression of being. Perhaps, it is by the use of supreme function of mind through which we can realize the self conscious mind. Likewise, it is through this self-conscious mind, we can interpret the absolute, fine and reality. The supreme function of mind only process through ‘reason’—the cognition that refers to the conscious unifying of the differences. On the contrary, the individual reason can operate through ‘mediation’ or ‘intermediation’. In the latter context, Knowledge is always ‘intermediated’ or received; therefore, knowledge can be called as the sense of the reason. Moreover, the ‘thought’ and ‘knowledge’ are parallel in discourse, when it comes to the determination of the reason.

Basically, the aim of knowledge is to transform and permeate the ‘given’ by the process of reflex-ion. The single operation of reason, whether through mediation or intermediation is simply the limitation of reason. But, the fact cannot be denied that reason is the highest function of mind and human thought process. Thence, reason is concrete not abstract—abstraction comes through intuition while ‘concreteness’ is a thorough process in search of the reason. [6] Moreover, the ‘reason’ is an individual phenomenon but it always functions in the domain of wholeness. Likewise, the function of the product in the course of being is what Hegel calls ‘notion’. A notion may be called as the object of reason but only if the connex-ion between the reason and its object be considered as close as that between functions. Perhaps, this notion creates and shapes all the function and operation of mind. In a nut shell, for Hegel, ‘the operation of notion’ and ‘the function of reason’ are parallel in describing the ‘conscious of itself’, ‘determining itself’ and  ‘as uniting its differences’.

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[1] Phenomenon is necessary to understand the essence and existence of nature or natural world.

[2] Basically, Goethe was obsessed with reason of nature while Hegel was obsessed with the reason of history—Hegel called the reason of history as the complete dialectical process.

[3] Goethe’s idea of pure human—Reason is the rose in the cross of present.

[4] Basically, space and time are the universal medium of thorough going externalization.

[5] Basically, it is the principle of universality and the principle of self-differentiation that shapes the third notion of Absolute.

[6] For Hegel reason must be dealt alone and with individuality.