The role of Vorstellung in Hegel's philosophy of religion

Abstract

The purpose of Hegel's Lectures on the Philosophy of Religion is to demonstrate that the true nature of the relation of religion and philosophy is dialectical; that it is the nature of religion to undergo an inner transformation, the result of which is philosophy. No attempt is made there to deduce religion from philosophy or to effect its destruction at the hands of philosophy. Rather, it is Hegel's express aid to delineate the true nature of religion and in so doing to preserve its independence from assimilation by philosophy. -- It is the intention of this thesis to defend Hegel's arguments in the Lectures. To this end, in chapter one, we present three critical views which are representative of the opposition raised by Hegel's arguments. All fail to consider seriously Hegel's contention that the true nature of the relation is dialectical and all accuse him of threatening the very existence of religion. To counter these criticisms we concentrate on examining and clarifying the nature of the religious consciousness, or, Vorstellung, as Hegel calls it. -- To this end, chapter two examines the relation between Vorstellung and reason, or philosophical thought, on the level of psychology, that is, as "faculties" of mind. This formal examination enables us to see more clearly what Hegel means by the dialectical relationship between the two - how reason emerges as the result of the nature of Vorstellung itself. -- This clarification and defense of Hegel continues in chapter three with an examination of the concrete religious consciousness. There it is revealed that Hegel conceived it to be of the nature of religion to undergo an inner transformation, the result of which is the emergence of philosophy, and, at the same time the recognition, by religion, of the necessity of its own independent existence.