Abstract

The thesis offers an interpretive analysis of G. W. F. Hegel's best known philosophical work, the Phenomenology of Spirit . The primary aim of the analysis is to clarify the essential role that religion--and in particular a mystically oriented religion--plays in Hegel's arguments, and to challenge the idea that the book can be meaningfully approached from a purely secular perspective. To this end, four key sections of the text are examined in considerable detail, and the interconnectedness of the themes discussed, as well as their place in the overall message and structure of the text, is emphasized. In the process, particular attention is also given to Hegel's theory of action, his conception of Christianity, and the development and superseding of an ethical worldview. The general conclusion to be defended is not only that the spiritual elements of Hegel's thought are of key importance and can only be meaningfully interpreted in an explicitly theological light, but also that the fundamental symbiosis between religion and philosophy forms the very heart of Hegel's philosophy