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Evans on Hegel
Published by Cynthia R. Nielsen December 11th, 2007 in HegelAfter a semester of immersion in Hegel-The Philosophy of Logic, The Philosophy of Nature and the Philosophy of Spirit-I find the following exceedingly refreshing, not to mention on the mark.
“Hegel’s own understanding of Christianity was significantly different from traditional orthodoxy. For example, Hegel seems to rule out the possibility of miracles. His understanding of Jesus is … quite complicated, but it seems rather unorthodox. Hegel accepted the claim that Jesus was divine, but he did not seem to understand this as implying that Jesus was uniquely divine. For Hegel mankind per se is divine, at least potentially. Jesus’ uniqueness is merely that he was the first person in history to recognize man’s true identity and destiny” (C. Stephen Evans, Kierkegaard’s Fragments and Postscript: The Religious Philosophy of Johannes Climacus, pp. 18-19).
Based on par. 569 of the Phil. of Spirit, in which Hegel draws together his account of the Son, I don’t think Hegel believes that “Jesus’ uniqueness is merely that he was the first person in history to recognize man’s true identity and destiny.” Here Hegel speaks of the Son as “singularity,” Einzelnheit, the outcome of the preceding universality and particularity. It seems clear that he identifies this “singularity” with one human individual only, and thinks he has given good reason for doing so.
I’m personally not sure that I follow Hegel’s argument fully or that I’m convinced by it. But Evans doesn’t seem to have taken adequate account of it.
As to mankind’s being “divine, at least potentially,” I hope that people don’t regard such a view as incompatible with the Christian message. Hegel’s view certainly is not Feuerbach’s, that God is human beings. Hegel has a well-developed notion of transcendence, as “true infinity.”
I would be glad to see more extensive discussion of Hegel’s theology among Anglophone Christians and others. It receives quite a lot of discussion in Germany, from writers like Hans Küng as well from Hegel specialists, but in the English-speaking world, Peter Hodgson and a couple of others seem to be about it. And the public debates about the plausibility of theism proceed as though Hegel (as well as Plato and the Platonic tradition) had never existed. I have argued in my _Hegel’s Philosophy of Reality, Freedom and God_ (Cambridge U, Press, 2005) that Kierkegaard’s critique, which seems to be a major influence on many people’s view of Hegel, reflects a considerable lack of understanding of what Hegel is up to.
Congratulations on this rich blog!
Bob Wallace
Dear Dr. Wallace,
Thank you for your helpful comments. I’d love to read your Hegel book and readily admit that I am an amateur when it comes to Hegel.
Best wishes,
Cynthia
Dr. Wallace,
I recently attended a conference in Rome, Italy entitled “The Grandeur of Reason: Religion, Tradition, and Universalism”; I do not think I would be exaggerating if I said that Hegel was a major player throughout. In fact, in my opinion, in both contemporary philosophical circles (particularly in the thought of Slavoj Zizek), as well as in contemporary theological circles (I’m thinking specifically of the “Radical Orthodoxy” sensibility), there is not simply a burgeoning interest in Hegel, but even a full-on recognition that we must take stock of his massive importance before moving on. Some of the most important thinkers working on Hegel in these circles, in my opinion, are Graham Ward, Cyril O’Regan, Rowan Williams, Slavoj Zizek, Catherine Malabou…
So, I do think that there is indeed a rising force, if you will, devoted to taking Hegel seriously, and especially to careful readings of his texts, and in my estimate of the current philosophico-theological climate, will only continue to grow.
In my opinion, this climate would do well to see an equal interest in careful, fresh looks at the work of Kierkegaard, and particularly his reading of Hegel…but that is of course another matter!
peace,
dave b
Dear Dave (if I may?),
Thanks for your very interesting report and comments. I wasn’t aware of Rowan Williams’s interest in Hegel. My slant on this subject probably reflects my limited knowledge of theological discussions, and of such discussions in England. My own background is primarily in philosophy, I live in the USA, and my interest in theology is relatively new. I’ll make the most of your pointers.
“_Grandeur_ of Reason”? My goodness! ;-)
All the best,
Bob
Prof. Wallace,
Thanks for the response.
On the title of your of the conference — I know…quite…well, presumptuous!
Williams has a couple of Hegel articles in his recent, Wrestling with Angels (Eerdmans, 2007), and he has another really rigorous one in the volume edited by Philip Blond entitled, Post-Secular Philosophy (Routledge…I think around 2000…that one’s slipping from my mind right now!). And I believe that Graham Ward must be working on a monograph on Hegel and theology, though I cannot confirm that for certain. And of course, William Desmond — someone you are likely much more familiar with — has done some really interesting work with Hegel, and is moving more in a “theological” direction in his recent work (the conclusion to his “metaxological” trilogy is called God and the Between).
The best work on Hegel from a theological perspective, though, is from Cyril O’Regan, in my opinion. His Heterodox Hegel is to this day still not really accounted for; and he is currently writing a multi-volume work on the significance of Swiss theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar…working in a lot of Heidegger, Hegel, and other contemporary philosophical figures.
If I remember, I will post a link here when my friend has finished editing the videos, but both Graham Ward’s (on Hegel) and O’Regan’s (on Heidegger, Balthasar, and others, including Hegel) lectures from the Rome conference will be made available as fully-edited videos soon. They should be posted here soon. Peace.
dave b (and of course you may call me Dave!…everyone does…)
And I should add that your book — of which I wasn’t aware — sounds really interesting; can’t wait to check it out. Peace.
dave b