![]() ![]() Its result is the Notion which it takes up of itself the history of philosophy is a revelation of what has been the aim of spirit throughout its history it is therefore the world's history in its innermost signification. This work of the spirit to know itself, this activity to find itself, is the life of the spirit and the spirit itself. At such a time, when the encircling crust, like a soulless decaying tenement, crumbles away, and spirit displays itself arrayed in new youth, the seven league boots are at length adopted. Spirit often seems to have forgotten and lost itself, but inwardly opposed to itself, it is inwardly working ever forward (as when Hamlet says of the ghost of his father, “Well said, old mole! canst work i’ the ground so fast?” (1)) until grown strong in itself it bursts asunder the crust of earth which divided it from the sun, its Notion, so that the earth crumbles away. It goes ever on and on, because spirit is progress alone. ![]() For in this lengthened period, the Notion of Spirit, invested with its entire concrete development, its external subsistence, its wealth, is striving to bring spirit to perfection, to make progress itself and to develop from spirit. What we pass in rapid review when we recall it, stretched itself out in reality to this great length of time. Tantæ molis erat, se ipsam cognoscere mentem.Īll this time was required to produce the philosophy of our day so tardily and slowly did the World-spirit work to reach this goal. This concrete idea is the result of the strivings of spirit during almost twenty-five centuries of earnest work to become objective to itself, to know itself: To this point the World-spirit has come, and each stage has its own form in the true system of Philosophy nothing is lost, all principles are preserved, since Philosophy in its final aspect is the totality of forms. Philosophy is thus the true theodicy, as contrasted with art and religion and the feelings which these call up - a reconciliation of spirit, namely of the spirit which has apprehended itself in its freedom and in the riches of its reality. In apprehension the spiritual and the natural universe are interpenetrated as one harmonious universe, which withdraws into itself, and in its various aspects develops the Absolute into a totality, in order, by the very process of so doing, to become conscious of itself in its unity, in Thought. The result is the thought which is at home with itself, and at the same time embraces the universe therein, and transforms it into an intelligent world. Its first activity is formal Aristotle was the first to say that is the thought of thought. We saw the thought which apprehends itself appearing it strove to make itself concrete within itself. But the deeper the spirit goes within itself, the more vehement is the opposition, the more abundant is the wealth without the depth is to be measured by the greatness of the craving with which spirit seeks to find itself in what lies outside of itself. It is easy from subordinate standpoints to find satisfaction in modes of intuitive perception and of feeling. The ultimate aim and business of philosophy is to reconcile thought or the Notion with reality. ![]() ![]() Nature, and the world or history of spirit, are the two realities what exists as actual Nature is an image of divine Reason the forms of self-conscious Reason are also the forms of Nature. The present standpoint of philosophy is that the Idea is known in its necessity the sides of its diremption, Nature and Spirit, are each of them recognized as representing the totality of the Idea, and not only as being in themselves identical, but as producing this one identity from themselves and in this way the identity is recognized as necessary. Hegel’s Lectures on the History of Philosophy Section Three: Recent German Philosophy ![]()
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