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- Dec 29, 2018Stephen C.,On the basis of your post, I reviewed Hegel's section on the Unhappy Consciousness yet again, searching for any reference to an "empty tomb."There is none.If there had been one, then I might have conceded to you that Hegel had Christianity in mind at some point in his section on the Unhappy Consciousness. But no, it's not there. There was only one reference to a "tomb," as follows:"Φ 217. That 'Other' cannot be found where it is sought;for it is meant to be just a 'beyond,' that which cannot befound. When looked for as a particular it is not universal...and just for that reason it is only one which has disappeared.Consciousness, therefore, can only come upon the graveof its life. But because this is itself an actuality, and since itis contrary to the nature of actuality to afford a lastingpossession, the presence even of that tomb is merelythe source of trouble, toil, and struggle, a fight whichmust be lost." (Hegel, 1807, PhG, para. 217)There Hegel demonstrates an ontological fact of life -- as true for ancient pagans, Egyptians, Assyrians, Hindus and Buddhists as it is for Christians. Namely, that seeking God in a one-sided fashion is always a losing proposition. If we seek God as Universal, we cannot find God in the Particular. If we seek God in the Particular, we cannot find God as the Universal.In seeking the Absolute Truth in this way, Consciousness finds only Nothingness -- i.e. the simple fact of Individual Mortality. This is what Hegel means by "the grave if its life." Thus, the Life that we find in our one-sided search is only our Finite Life -- a "grave" and a "tomb." Now someone like Nietzsche might say that is "enough," but Hegel says that it is "merely a source of trouble, toil and struggle," and furthermore, it is a struggle which we will all ultimately lose.There is no hope in hopelessness. This was true long, long before Jesus was ever born.Hegel is thus speaking of a time before Christianity, when people had no clue about how to solve the dialectical metaphysics of God. Thus, Wahl is mistaken just as Crites is mistaken when they project their own finite understanding of Christianity into Hegel's Unhappy Consciousness.Happy New Year--Paul------------------------------------------On Friday, December 28, 2018, 2:27:40 PM CST, 'Stephen Cowley' stephen.cowley@... [hegel] <hegel@yahoogroups.com> wrote:Paul, I am pretty clear that Wahl’s justification for seeing Christianity in the Unhappy Consciousness would be in terms of what is known of Hegel’s prior interests and reading, i.e. the theological manuscripts and also perhaps the Critical Journal essays. What else does the empty tomb signify?...All the bestStephen Cowley
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