![]() ![]() To Hegel, the Pure and Actual, or Spirit as Becoming, follows the nature of the dialectic since it is ultimately identical to it. It is also important to stress that in a Hegelian view that which is actual is real, or rational. 109 Hence, one may claim that at least conceptually a purpose exists before that which displays purposiveness, and thus one may continue to claim that something such as history’s final point is actual before history displays finality in its actuality. 108 Also, one may claim that for something to possess actuality it must have inherited it from a cause that displays either the same degree of actuality or is actual itself, and since Spirit is a totality, and thus, always active, it is actual. But, the results of Spirit are not as actual as it, and instead they display actuality, which is similar but not the same as its activity. 107 In other words, Spirit, which follows the pattern of the dialectic, is actual since it is Becoming, or displays ceaseless activity. 106Īnother facet of the logic of Spirit includes the notion that that which is actual precedes that which displays actuality. To Hegel, this dialectical progression is how reality, Spirit, or God’s essence moves, and he believes that if people studied it, they would have an easier time comprehending history’s development, or God’s progress toward realizing his/her freedom as understood in the terrestrial realm. Therefore, to attempt to capture the conceptual totality of Spirit or God’s essence, one would have to posit a statement that balances “Spirit is human” with “Spirit is non-human,” which would appear to be achievable through the statement “Spirit is all beings.” But, that resolution is just an appearance, since objects are not beings, yet, they too must be part of Spirit if it is to be a true totality. Antithetically, one may posit that “Spirit is non-human,” but one must remember that this claim leads to a conceptual separation between Spirit and humanity, which cannot be the case since nothing can be external to Spirit. 105 For example, if one were to claim that “Spirit is human,” that assertion would be wrong because humanity is not the totality of existence. 104 Hegel refutes the possibility of this separation through logic, and he persists that one can only maintain a truly monistic view of reality if one admits that only the unity of all predicates can ultimately pertain to Spirit as their subject. 103 Consequently, a separation between Spirit and anything that exists would produce a multiplicity, and thus, it would cease to be a true totality or unity if anything were genuinely distinct from it. According to Hegel Spirit is ultimately a totality, and thus nothing is outside of it. To understand how history has an already actual purpose, one must first consult Hegel’s logic of Spirit. ![]()
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