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Dialectical Critique of the Hegelian System: Absolute Spirit and The DIALECTICAL CRITIQUE OF THE HEGELIAN SYSTEM DIALECTICAL CRITIQUE OF THE HEGELIAN SYSTEM: ABSOLUTE SPIRIT AND THE RELATION OF RELIGION, THE STATE AND PHILOSOPHY By CHARLES P. RODGER, B.A. A Thesis Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts McMaster University © Copyright by Charles P. Rodger, September 2004 MASTER OF ARTS (2004) McMaster University (Philosophy) Hamilton, Ontario TITLE: Dialectical Critique of the Hegelian System: Absolute Spirit and the Relation of Religion, the State and Philosophy AUTHOR: Charles P. Rodger, B.A. (University of Alberta) SUPERVISOR: Professor Samuel Ajzenstat NUMBER OF PAGES: xiv, 137 11 Abstract Starting from the presupposition, common in some circles of Continental philosophy, that Hegel's system is unsurpassed and yet to be overcome, this thesis attempts to formulate an immanent dialectical critique of that system. As such, the thesis is not an attempt to simply disprove Hegel, but rather show how, on its own ground, Hegel's system is forced to transcend itself in a movement that, at least in principle, is also capable of comprehending Hegel's philosophical system, as well as subsequent history and philosophy. The first three chapters of the thesis layout Hegel's philosophical position by means of a detailed examination and exposition of the final sections of Hegel's Philosophy of Spirit and the central category of Hegel's entire system, absolute spirit. Using this as its background and presupposition, the final chapter shows how Hegel's entire philosophical system and the concept of absolute spirit presupposes a stable, concrete relation between religion, the state and philosophy and yet how, due to the very manner in which these three and their relationship is conceived by Hegel, that this relationship is ultimately self-destructive. Consequently this relationship is undermined, but thus so is Hegel's philosophical system and his very concept of absolute spirit. Insofar as this thesis only offers a negative lesult, it remains merely prefatory. The conclusion thus offers hints at how the final result of the dialectical movement can be seen as also positive by pointing out the similarities of this conclusion to the philosophical position of Emmanuel Levinas, arguing that both he and Hegel need to be overcome in a comprehensive dialectical movement. III Acknowledgements I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr. Samuel Ajzenstat, for his assistance during the writing of this thesis. His advice and many questions were instrumental in this thesis taking its current form. I would also like to express the deepest appreciation to my wife, Sherilyn, as well as family and friends who have supported me throughout the writing process. Lastly, I wish to acknowledge my great-uncle, Peter Brand, who frequently reminded me that the reason Satan fell to earth was that he ignored the law of gravity. IV Table of Contents List of Abbreviations ......................................................................... viii Hegel's Works ........................................................................ viii Secondary Sources .................................................................... viii Editorial Note ................................................................................... .ix Method of Citation ..................................................................... .ix Translation & Capitalization ........................................................... x Introduction ...................................................................................... 1 Hegel's System of Reconciliation ..................................................... 1 Hegel in Our Time ...................................................................... 3 Knowledge & Truth ..................................................................... 5 Interpreting Hegel.. ..................................................................... 6 The Moments of Absolute Spirit. ..................................................... 7 Left, Right & Center Hegelianism .................................................... 8 Of Death and Endings ................................................................. 10 Organization of the Thesis ......................................................... 12 The Exposition of Absolute Spirit.. ........................................ 12 Critique of Absolute Spirit.. ................................................. 15 Problems of Exposition, Interpretation & Refutation .................... 17 Exposition & Introductions .................................................. 18 Interpretation ................................................................... 20 Refutation ...................................................................... 22 v Chapter 1: The Concept of Absolute Spirit .............................................. 26 Truth & the Absolute .................................................................. 26 Exposition of §554 of the Philosophy of Spirit. ................................... 29 Substance & Subject. ........................................................ 29 Chapter II: The Concept of Philosophy as Science .................................... 37 Exposition of §572-574 of the Philosophy of Spirit.. ............................. 38 Art, Religion, Philosophy ................................................... 38 Philosophy & the Sublation of Finite Consciousness ....................43 Phenomenology & Science .................................................. 51 Chapter III: Philosophical Science & Absolute Spirit ................................. 55 Exposition of §575-577 of the Philosophy of Spirit. .............................. 58 First Syllogism of the System ............................................... 58 Second Syllogism of the System ............................................ 61 Third Syllogism of the System ............................................. 63 Chapter IV: The Relation of Absolute Spirit & Philosophical Science ............ 69 Summary ................................................................... , ............ 69 A .......................................................................................... 74 a ................................................................................. 74 b ................................................................................. 76 c .................................................................................. 78 B .......................................................................................... 80 a ................................................................................. 80 VI b ................................................................................. 83 c .................................................................................. 86 C ..........................................................................................95 a ................................................................................. 97 b ................................................................................ 102 c ................................................................................ 114 Conclusion .................................................................................... 121 The Age of Fragmentation .......................................................... 122 The New Hegelians .................................................................. 125 Philosophy & the Future ............................................................ 128 Religion & Horizontal Transcendence ............................................. 129 Hegel & Levinas ..................................................................... 130 Beyond Philosophical Science, Beyond Truth .................................... 131 Selected Bibliography ....................................................................... 133 Hegel's Works .................................................. , ..................... 133 Secondary Sources ................................................................... 134 Vll List of Abbreviations Hegel's Works EL = The Encyclopaedia Logic, with the Ziisatz: Part I of the Encyclopaedia of the Philosophical Sciences with the Ziisatz EN= Hegel's Philosophy of Nature ES= The Philosophy of Mind HL= Hegel: The Letters ILP= Hegel's Introduction to the Lectures on the History of Philosophy ILH= Lectures on the Philosophy of W orId History: Introduction LA= Hegel's Aesthetics: Lectures on Fine Art LP= Lectures on the History of Philosophy LR= Lectures on the Philosophy of Religion PR= Elements of the Philosophy of Right PS = Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit PW= Hegel: Political Writings SL= Hegel's Science of Logic Secondary Sources CCH= The Cambridge Companion to Hegel HC= Hegel and His Critics HTMS= Hegel's Theory of the Modern State RDHT= The Religious Dimension in Hegel's Thought Vlll Editorial Note Method of Citation Following standard scholarly practice, whenever applicable, all citations of Hegel's works refer to the section number preceded by the symbol' §'. In editions of Hegel's later works, including the Encyclopadia of the Philosophical Science as well as the Philosophy of Right, the main sections of the text are often supplemented with Anmerken (remarks) and Zusatze (lecture notes). For the sake of clarity and convenience, citations of sections are thus followed when applicable either by an 'r.' in the case of remarks or by a 'z.' in the case of the Zusatze. The
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