Abstract

A study of habit and other unconscious backgrounds of action shows how shapes of spiritual life in Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit each imply correlative senses of lived time. The very form of time thus gives spirit a sensuous encounter with its own concept. The point that conceptual content is manifest in the sensuous form of time is key to an interpretation of Hegel’s infamous and puzzling remarks about time and the concept in “Absolute Knowing.” The article also shows how Hegel’s Phenomenology connects with current discussions of lived time, habit, and, via discussion of Wallace’s Infinite Jest, addiction.