Monthly Archives: October 2021

The “Specific Shape” of Stories (Notes on Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit §§678-679)

Posted on October 25, 2021 by Lee

For Hegel, the limitation of religion is that it relies on “picture-thinking.” A religion is based around the interpretation of a number of stories, images, and rituals designed to show the human spirit the truth about itself and its place … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Hegel, Philosophy | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Conscience and the Perfection of Religion (Notes on Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit §§677-678)

Posted on October 22, 2021 by Lee

Conscience holds the moral truth within itself. Instead of waiting for the day of judgement, conscience judges its own actions in the here and now. But conscience is fooling itself. The universal law that the moral self-consciousness holds within itself, … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Hegel, Philosophy | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Notes on Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit §§674-677: Heaven and the Underworld

Posted on October 21, 2021 by Lee

In the ancient Greek conception of “the underworld,” the shades that dwell there are individual souls still, as they were in the world above. They are still cut off from the unknown, unknowable, and universal “fate” that determines the outcomes … Continue reading →

Posted in Hegel, Philosophy | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Notes on Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit §§673-674

Posted on October 20, 2021 by Lee

“Religion” is a concept that Hegel develops throughout his Phenomenology of Spirit. Here I’m going to look at the most abstract concept of religion that Hegel provides, the most minimal notion of what a religion must be in order to … Continue reading →

Posted in Hegel, Philosophy | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Notes on Christopher Isherwood’s Goodbye to Berlin

Posted on October 12, 2021 by Lee

The sun is shining and Berlin belongs to Hitler, is the almost final thought of Christopher Isherwood’s Goodbye to Berlin. Christopher catches his reflection in a shop window and is horrified to see that he is smiling: sunshine is still … Continue reading →

Posted in books, History, Literature | Tagged | 1 Comment