063 - Spirit: Hegel's God? An Exploration.

The word "spirit" has so many connotations. Per the thesaurus: character, courage, energy, enthusiasm, essence, heart, humor, life, mood, morale, quality, resolve, temperament, vigor, vitality, warmth, and will. 

Hegel had a different interpretation: God.  And he said it as clear as day.  

He defines God as the timeless Absolute Idea, the idea of ideas, self-thinking thought.  But it doesn't end there.  The Absolute Idea freely others itself in Nature, and enters this finite world as Spirit.  It does so to become actual, real, not just abstract truth.  

This episode reviews the etymology of the word "spirit" across different cultures - Greek, Latin, Hebrew, even Proto-Indo-European, up to the present day.  And then explores how spirit relates to Hegel's tripartite system, and finds its fulfillment in what Hegel calls True Infinity.  

Transcript

Gregory Novak 0:01

Hello, this is Gregory Nowak. This is the cunning of Geist episode 63. Welcome back. The purpose of this podcast is to explore philosophy, psychology and science with an emphasis on the great 19th century philosopher. George Wilhem Friedrich Hagle. In this episode, we are going to be focusing on spirit. Now spirit is one of those words that you hear all the time. It has many connotations. And importantly, it's a key part of Hegel's philosophy. Because. In his most famous book. It's right in the title, the phenomenology of spirit. I will first be covering the etymology of the word itself through different cultures, ancient Greek, Hebrew, Latin, French, German, and English. And I will then follow up with the important role this word plays in Hegel's philosophy and how in fact is quite literally how Hagle defines God. Now that's a lot to cover, so let's get into it. Now the first thing to say. Is it spirit is a very interesting word. No matter what language you referring to, it has many meanings, many nuances, and it often depends on the context in terms of how it's used to understand its meaning. It's also interesting because it's one of the meanings of spirit is a deep religious or philosophical position, something metaphysical beyond the physical. And it has this special aspect that I intend to explore in this episode. Now let's first diagnose the word spirit from several different standpoints and traditions. First English, the English language. Spirit is, is used in English in many different ways. Perhaps the most common use of the term spirit in English. Is to mean, a liveliness or having energy as in spirited. For example, she gave a spirited performance at her show last night, or the lawyers for the defendant offered a spirited defense or their horse is spirited. Et cetera. It's also used to denote a positive feeling of pride and excitement, such as in team spirit or even national spirits. That's just the spirit of 76 when referring to the American revolution. And it is used also in a negative sense as well, such as he lost a spirit. He he's no longer able to win on the tennis court. For example. It can also refer to a theme or an overarching feeling or emotion such as the holiday spirit, the Christmas spirit. And of course we can't forget. There are alcoholic beverages that are also often referred to as spirits. Some say this usage of the term. Spirits for alcohol goes back to the old alchemists. When they distilled liquids down to capture their essence. So spirit in that sense means essence. It is interesting also that some attribute it's first used in this context. A spirit. Equaling alcohol to Aristotle. I'm not sure exactly that. If that's a fact or not, but I was able to find that in my research, so let's review the, the origin of the word spirit. It originally comes from the Latin term Spiritus, meaning breath, and refers to both respiration into the wind. It's also related to the Latin word SPRI. Sorry. Which means to breathe. Eventually the word spirit in English would come to refer to a person's character. Or disposition. And it is also often meant to refer to an animating principle in life. It can refer to life itself. For example, when someone's, as they drew their last breath, I mean, life has left them. Spirit is closely related to the Greek word. Pneuma spelled P N E U M a, which also means breath. But also it refers to a religious context of spirit or soul pneuma in the new Testament. The word pneuma is commonly translated as spirit. Spirit can also refer to a ghost. As in she summoned the spirits of her ancestors during a sands. Interestingly, the ancient Hebrew scholars called. Spirit, ruach. And it's also had a dual meaning of both breadth and spirits of this. This dual meaning runs deep. The word ruach hakodesh in Hebrew means the spirit of the holy one hot Kodash. Meaning wholly or the only one. Ruach hakodesh appears first in the old Testament, in the second verse. Of Genesis. The earth was without form and void and darkness was over the face of the deep and the spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Probably don't remember that. Well, the spirit of God is actually the Hebrew root. Kodash. So. There's a similarity and definitions from the ancient Greeks to the Hebrews regarding spirit. And again, there's so many connotations. I looked up spirit in the Thorrez and here's what I found. This is just some of them. And I'll do it in alphabetical order. Character courage, energy, enthusiasm, essence, heart humor, life, mood, morale, quality resolve temperament, vigor, vitality, warmth, and will. So in English to sum it up, it means something beyond the physical and essence of state and emotion. And as I mentioned, it is also the root of the word, spiritual meaning metaphysical, the sacred and the divine. So there's not only a meaning of emotion or essence, but it connotation of something bigger, something beyond the mundane. Beyond the finite. And the word spirit was adopted. in the Christian language from early times, Referring to the holy spirit or as they call it sometimes the holy ghost. You still hear in English? The holy spirit referred to as the holy ghost. at times. So the ghost spirit link is there. Now. An interesting turn that occurred in the French language concerning the word spirit. The French word list spree comes from the same Latin root spirit is however, in French, the word adds an interesting dimension. And that is mined. This addition occurred in the middle ages. When the French word is spree also became associated with mind or cleverness. And today the meaning of the spree in French depends on the usage. You can refer directly to mind cognitive processes. They actually don't have a separate word for that, but can also refer to spirits, something immaterial as in soul. And it also has the similar connotations and Frances, it does in English. Uh, there's words like a spree decor, which is actually used a lot in English. Meaning group spirit pride. And fellowship. So the French first added the element of mind to the word spirit and that's meaning that does not exist in English. And this brings us finally to the German, to the word Geist. As you all know the name of this podcast is the cunning of Geist. And like the English word spirit, the German word Geist also came from the lens spirit is, and it originally referred more to a ghost, something supernatural. It actually came from the original prodo Indo European root language. The word was Geiss, G H E I S. Meaning to be frightened, suggesting it's links to spirits and ghosts. And as an aside, the English word gas leak comes from the similar route. But then around in the 18th century. The term Geist in German. Also began to be associated with mind. And most feel that this was an influence from the, how the French were using the term. So just like the word, uh l'esprit and French guys began to have a dual meaning in German, mind and spirit. And as such, it does not have a direct one-to-one translation with an English word. It makes it tough for translators. This is why Hagle his most famous book, the phenomenology of spirit. It's sometimes translated as the phenomenology of mind. As an aside. There are many German words that do not translate directly into English. And. There's a. Dialect called Yiddish. Uh, which is Jewish dialect was used by Jews in Europe and during. Uh, up until the world war two. And it was based on German, but a heavy inf. Infusion of Hebrew. And many of these Yiddish words have survived and are commonly used in, in English. particularly in America where it's like schlep or Evey handle chutzpah, let's Schmall. bupkis, klutz. Magilla zaftig, futz. Schmuck and many more. Eh, these words are used today in English speaking countries, because they cannot be directly translated. And there's the sound too. And they just seem to capture an essence that can't be conveyed in English. And that's why they're so popular. In English. And now Geist is not commonly used in English. And, because it does not fall into a category that can be precisely translated. As I said, it's either mind or spirit. And many of Haydel's keywords. It can not be translated directly. And we deal with this often in the Hagle study group and Facebook, whereas like dust sand being there off a bung. So ablation come to mind. As another aside. We just mentioned this while we're here. I wonder if part of the disconnect between the analytic philosophy tradition, which is primarily Anglo oriented and the continental philosophy tradition. Which originated in Germany comes about from the uniqueness of the vocabulary itself, the words itself and how the words get people to think in certain ways. Based on the words that they use. But that's perhaps a subject for a different episode. However. The term Geist took on special significance in Germany and elsewhere as a direct result of Hagle. There's no doubt about it. Geist. Is a central theme of Hegel's work. And it came to me in a centralized, absolute purpose that is working itself out in the world through history. That is why many use the term Geist in English? Because it has no direct translation, including the name of this podcast. And in the title of this episode, I asked whether spirit is Hegel's term for God. He ain't go. Would've said Geist obviously, but I'll stick with spirit here. His spirit, how Hagle. Defines God. Well, we're going to get into this, but before just a few words on the word, God itself. God is a word that is loaded with so many connotations and meaning some good, some bad, some. Transcendent. It can almost mean all things to all people. And. To some, God is a fairy tale. For others. God has a higher power. Some take God to mean the creator of all and everything. Some believe God intervenes in human affairs. Others do not. Some believe God sent his son to, or to live and experience death as a human. Some believe God is wholly separate from humans. Others. Believe God permeates all things. Some believe in a nature guide. Oh, there's believe that God is both in the world and beyond the world. And then there is what Hagle considers God, which will now get into. Let me begin by noting that this is an immense topic. It's a huge question. Scholars and philosophers have debated this since Hegel's death in 1831. It divided the right of galleons from the left to galleons. And philosophers up to the current day, still discuss what Haydel's conception of God is. It's a big topic, many papers have been written on it in books. So, what I'm about to present is just a brief summary of where I come out in this question. And it's just a very sketchy outline. If you will. But I believe, I hope that I'll be able to point out some of the important stepping stones in gaining an appreciation of what Hagle means by God. And associating it with spirit. My analysis will focus on three factors. First the word spirit and what it means to Hagle. Second Hegel's dialectic approach, his triadic process. And thirdly, Hegel's notion of true infinity. Okay. Let's deal with spirit. first. Now, let me begin by quoting halal directly here. Quote. The definition of God is that God is the absolute idea. I E that God is spirit and quote. Now that's about as direct a statement as one can make. Now let's just unpack this brief statement first. Hagle identify as God is the absolute idea you begins. The definition of guide is they've got, is the absolute idea. So that's how he defines God. Very simply. Now, what is the absolute idea? Well, if you recall, it's what Hagle ends up with at the end of his science of logic. And also, if you recall. His science of logic is the first part of his tripartite system. Consisting of logic, nature, and spirit. Now. One can spend hours, days defining. This notion of the absolute idea. It took Hagle a full book, the science of logic to, to develop this, this idea of the absolute idea. As I said, it appears that comes at the end of the science and logic. He builds up to this concept slowly. Step-by-step. It begins with presupposition was being, as we discussed her many times and he ends up in the logic with the absolute idea. So, what is this absolute idea again? I have two short definitions and. But please bear in mind that this was a much broader topic and a short definition. Doesn't do it justice. But my first quick definition is that. The absolute idea is the idea of ideation itself. It's the idea of ideas. It's the idea of all ideas. The second. Definition that I use quick one is that it is self thinking thought it's thought turning in on itself and analyzing itself. And Hagle as we'll see. A minute equates this idea of ID Asian. The self thinking thought. With God. It's interesting that Aristotle also had a similar definition of guidance. Metaphysics. I'm not going to go into detail on this now, but perhaps someday. So God is a conceptualization. The thought of God itself. Thinking thought. And what is key here is that God, as the absolute idea is a self. It has to be to conduct self thinking, thought to coming to know itself. So you hear the word self in there. So God is, is a self. And I know if you're not familiar with the science of logic, this may sound strange. What does this mean? Self thinking thought the idea of ideas. All I can say is one of the most rewarding things one can do. I believe if you're interested in philosophy and Hagle is to follow him, step-by-step In the science of logic, how we begins with presupposition being an ends up. With the absolute idea. And there are some rays you can read, but it's quite remarkable how, how he begins. With just presupposition was being an ends up with, uh, with God. But the key year is that. The end of the logic is not the end of Hegel's system is I said, Hey, goes system is, is three parts. And the logic where we are at the end of the logic with absolute idea is just the first step. The absolute idea has to become manifest. It has to become real. And it does this in nature as spirit. And when I said that it's a self, I'm not referring to some being, living somewhere else outside of us on a mountain top or an outer space somewhere and saying that God is a self. I mean that this self exists in all of us as a higher self. If you will, sort of the one deeper self of assault and we can listen to this higher self for guidance. And Hagle. Directly links. The absolute idea at the end of the logic to spirit. And I'm going to read the quote again, that I initially read. Quote, the definition of God is that God is the absolute idea. I that God is spirit and quote. And here he calls his God the absolute idea spirit. So he's linking idea. Absolute idea with spirit. So halo is saying the guide is just now what appears at the end of the science of logic, but God is spirit exists in nature in us. In order to understand his notion that God is spirit. One must use the framework of his overall system. And we've discussed here many times. Hegel's tripartite system of logic, nature, and spirit. The first thing to recognize is that the logic which culminates in the absolute idea is timeless time doesn't exist in a logic it's pure mind, pure thought. It's the idea which recognizes itself. It's such. And this pure mind, freely others itself into nature. Which brings us to the second part of ecosystem nature. Now. This othering does not take place in time. It is eternal. It has always been. So it's not a creation event. It's not the big bang. It's not that God created the heavens and the earth. It's just the logical order of things. How things turn out. Now. Nature. Is the very opposite of logic of pure mind. And with in nature, there is indeed time and space and finite things. It is random. It's blinded follows its own laws. But it contains something else. And this is the third part of the tripartite dialectic, and that is spirit. Spirit is mind within nature. It's purpose in nature is to know itself in order to make itself more real, more actual. God or mind must enter into nature as part of the overall dialectic process to become real, to become actual and to know itself as spirit. As Steven crates puts it, Quote God, as an abstract truth passes out of his abstract universality into reality into the world. God himself. Although true. Is not real prior to his manifestation in the world and quote. So God mind comes into the world as spirit, spirit in the world to become real, to become actual, to become concrete. And the spirit undertakes a process. Again, nature is within time and space and there's a historical struggle to accomplish this. And we're part of this. As I mentioned, the world of nature and spirit is within the world of time. The logic is not, but nature and spirit are. And a great historical processes, undergoing which, as I said, we're all part of and that's to recognize spirit within because it makes us more real. It makes us more free. And again, there's no puppet master pulling the strings from above. We are in charge here of our own destiny. And we can achieve this. We can improve. If we listened to this higher self, this higher power within. Hagle says so himself. Quote spirit in so far as it is called divine spirit is not as spirit beyond the stars or beyond the world for God is present is omnipresent strictly as spirit is God present in spirit. End quote. So, what does Hagle saying here? Plain and simple God is spirit coming to know itself in the world. The infinite coming to know itself within the finite. Now some may notice a similarity here to the Christian, Trinity, where God manifests himself. In the world as a son. To bring light life and love into the world. And there are indeed similarities, which I'll discuss in a moment. Now, as I said, this is a process, a dialectical process and unfolds in time. And. All three though exists simultaneously as one. Absolute. It's the logic that it's timeless, but nature and spirit are in time, but all three of them are the one absolute. And humanity's awareness of spirit within time is coming stages. Now, let me just briefly review these stages. The first step was of course, when life appeared on earth and I don't believe this was just a blind, random. thing that occurred with some, either. Mud a lightening bolt hit a rock and mud and life. Form. No, I believe there was an inner purpose of advancement of spirit operating within nature itself within the mud, within the rock. to, to get things going. Evolution and proceeded. and a lot of it is natural. No question about it. And eventually sophisticated life forms evolved again, but not solely, randomly, not blindly, but with the help of an inner force of development, spiritual force, spirit, a force within. Eventually these sophisticated life forms. Would it begin to rationalize and develop a sense of self-consciousness. Now, this is what is commonly called to as the fall. But it's anything but a fall it's actually a further advancement. When humans became clearly separated from animals through their rational capabilities. Eh, they, they began to be driven, not by instinct. And memory alone, but by mental problem solving and visualizing alternative futures and acting accordingly. They were comprehending mine for the first time. I higher power. I'm going to begin to sense this power. There's great power. And it was something above and beyond the animals. And they initially attributed this concept to the gods. They invented words for it and, and created mythology, et cetera. And religions. And they initially proceed these gods or God is separate. And the gods intervened in, in, in life and in our lives and made things happen for better, for worse. But as human development continued and ethical development, continued people finally reached a point. Where they could recognize that spirits is great. Power was in themselves. And this gave rise to the narrative of the Christian religion was Shadle calls. The revealed religion, where God mind spirit are recognized. Within humanity. At first, this narrative took the firm of encompassing, just one human Jesus. He was. Envisioned as fully as a human God. And the human God lived on earth and died on earth. Note that the human guide dying on earth is critical for if God is truly human, God must know death. God is a spirit within a finite body. And this finite body must know death because it's finite. Finally it means having a beginning and an end. But here's the key and what makes spirit, what it is spirit lives on after death, it lives on in all of us. It's born again, if you will, this is the resurrection. This Christian narrative clearly parallels the othering of the absolute ID in nature. mind, God must become nature. It must become finite. But spirit within remains. It's eternal. As I said, The logic mind is, is eternal. And can go beyond the finiteness of existence. So spirit, God does not die. Spirit does not die with the death of the human guide, but it lives on in each of us and we'll continue to do so after we are gone. This is the Christian narrative, according to Hagle, and you can see how it fits his tripartite scheme of logic, nature, and spirit. And hago. Refers to this. Several times. And his philosophy, his history, he states quote. To become certain to men. God must appear in flesh in the world and quote, and this quote. Cool. The God, man. He is this for spirit only as the process of spirit makes him to be such, has to manifest himself that he is and presents a progress of the idea. The manifestation of its absolute content is determination and quote. So the idea, the absolute idea, the recognition of the idea progresses, it advances in humanity. And this brings us to the third element of Hegel's God. True infinity. And we've discussed true infinity. Often we discussed it last year in episode 42, and also way back in episode four. True infinity is where the infinite and the finite meat. And true infinity, is the timeless absolute idea being born within the finite world of nature. And it gradually subplates nature through spirit. I discussed true infinity so many times. But essentially is what gives us our freedom. We as humans have an ability to imagine different future outcomes and possibilities. We can dream of a better life for ourselves. Our loved ones, our communities, our world. Animals, can I do this? They can adapt. They can learn based on memory, but they can't imagine a better way. What we have is freedom. This is our ability to go beyond the mundane, to forge a new path, to see a brighter future and to act, to bring it about this is what true infinity is all about. This is my view of spirit. This is my view of what Hegel's. God really is. So. To summarize. We have defined the interesting etymology of the word spirit throughout history and in different languages. We have seen that Hagle equates God with both the absolute idea and the absolute idea working itself out in the world, be a spirit through us. It can best be seen in three concurrent stages operating in a dialectical structure, The abstract logic. The finiteness of nature and this ablation of the finiteness of nature and the absolute idea by spirit in the world. In other words through true infinity. A true surpassing of the finite. Well, that's a wrap for this episode. Thanks so much for listening. I know we covered a lot here and hopefully I'll be able to cover a lot of these things we talked about in greater detail in future episodes. Yeah. Um, personally, it's hard for me to believe that we, this is the 63rd episode of the cunning of Geist, and I want to thank all of you for listening. Uh, for supporting this podcast. Thank you very much. As always I'll be listing all the references that I referred to here on the podcast. Facebook page at cunning of Geist. And you can follow me on Twitter. Gregory Nowak at cunning of Geist. And please be sure to share links to this podcast with your like-minded friends on social media and spread the word. Get it out there. Anyway. This is Gregory Nowak. This is the cunning of Geist. See you next time.