Hegel: L'esprit absolu: The Absolute Spirit

Carl Spadoni was Research Collections Librarian at the Mills Library, McMaster University, Hamilton.

This anthology contains the proceedings of a bilingual, international symposium held at the University of Ottawa on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Hegel’s death. Although eight essays are published in the anthology (five in English and three in French), it is not clear why five other papers that were delivered at the symposium have been excluded. For most of the papers a transcription is provided of the discussion that ensued after the paper was read. Also included in the anthology is a concluding “Round Table” discussion.

For Hegel, the phrase “Absolute Spirit” is used to signify the ultimate stage of reality where thought and experience are fused into a unity transcending but not divorced from the finite, imperfect world. Absolute Spirit is defined and developed by Hegel in various ways, however, and to such an extent that his followers and commentators have differed on its interpretation. The essays in this anthology all focus on the meaning of Absolute Spirit in some particular way. Some of the essay topics overlap. For example, one essay discusses Hegel’s identification of Absolute Spirit with God, and another essay explores the extent to which Absolute Spirit is used by Hegel as a religious justification of secular culture. The topics of the other essays range widely from the origin and significance of Absolute Spirit to the place of aesthetics in Hegel’s metaphysics.

The contributors to the volume are all Hegelian scholars who have either edited Hegel’s writings or attempted to explain (or, in some cases, defend) his philosophy. Even though the essays presuppose a thorough familiarity with Hegel’s work, by and large they are clearly written and are not characterized by obscure Hegelianizing terminology. In several papers, as in the essay by H.S. Harris of the University of Toronto, one can also find a masterly display of erudition. The discussions feature lively exchanges and are useful starting points to understanding the essays. At the same time, it should be noted, the discussions reveal and reflect the diversity of opinion among the symposium participants. A weakness of the anthology is that it lacks a proper introduction. The editor’s preface is little more than an acknowledgment to various individuals who assisted in hosting the symposium.