Therefore, when Hegel discusses the concept of reason, he does not grasp it in an absolute formal manner, completely based on formal regulations, but rather in the process of the natural development of an absolute spirit, which manifests itself as an activity. So, rationality is seen as a regulation of activity, not purely as a regulation of a dead form.
Here we can read how Hegel defined the content of reason in his discussion of the concept of reason in his Phenomenology of Spirit.
Therefore, in the third concept of rationality, it specifies the rationality of observation. We need to use the method of observation to view things, therefore, the observation of inorganic substances is accomplished through the discovery of descriptive features and patterns. At the same time, there is a pure self-awareness of oneself, that is, an understanding of the laws of thinking, including psychological laws, individual laws, and even a kind of observation of self-awareness and direct real-life relationships, which includes some physiognomy and skull studies.
This is all an applied discipline, and it is not a purely conceptual theoretical discipline. It is all about how people use their rational abilities in real activities to achieve a conceptual grasp of reason and things.
So, it is all an applied process. Including the self-awareness of rationality discussed later, which is achieved through its own activities, including happiness, the laws of the heart, and virtues, as well as the kingdom of spiritual animals and the rationality of deception or legislation. His rational concept is entirely a process that occurs in social history and natural activities.
So, in Hegel's concept, why is he unwilling to use reason as a core concept in his philosophy, but willing to use the word spirit, because reason is just a process of absolute spirit in human society and nature, showing itself. It is not an absolute spirit in itself.
From this, we can understand why Hegel regarded reason as the next stage of self-awareness.
If rational expression is a process of absolute spirit occurring in nature, or if rationality foreshadows the externalization of absolute spirit in natural history, reaching the spiritual process precisely indicates the externalization process of absolute spirit in human society.
So, in the Phenomenology of Spirit, Hegel's concept of spirit mainly refers to the human spirit, that is, the absolute spirit of humanity, and how it is manifested in human society. So, in the stage of absolute spiritual history, what he gave was about the belief in social rule of law. The belief in social rule of law is to understand the regulations on all activities of human society at the spiritual level.
If reason is about the history of nature, then spirit is about the history of society. This is also a task that Western philosophers often do, which is to strictly distinguish between natural things and social things, including spiritual things. What belongs to natural things, what belongs to human society, or what belongs to human spirit.
For example, when we talk about human physiological functions, do they belong to sociality or naturalness?
Of course, it belongs to naturalness, so eating and drinking for men and women are natural functions, not social functions. We distinguish between human natural functions and social functions. For example, in human natural functions, it mainly includes a necessary condition for human existence as a material being, which is its natural function.
As a necessary condition for social existence, a person becomes a social function. Human beings also need to be a necessary condition for spiritual existence, which is the spiritual world of human beings. So, humans are basically divided into these three components: natural, social, and spiritual.
However, these three parts are not completely distinguished, and in human activities, they are integrated into one.
So, it's difficult to completely separate it. The natural attributes of human beings are completely different from my social attributes, or the spiritual world of human beings is completely different from my material world, and it's difficult to distinguish them completely.
So, we often say that the greatest role of mental activity is that it is the sum of human natural and social states, and only then do you have a mental state. You cannot say that my mental state is empty, without any natural or social content. My pure mental state is not your mental state, it must be a philosophical content that transcends your mental state and enters the objective spiritual level.
It must not be your personal mental state, which is what we often refer to as knowledge. Because knowledge is never personal to you, knowledge is never your personal spiritual content. It must be a common spiritual content shared by everyone. In this sense, only when we enter a higher state of mind, called the absolute state of mind, can we truly break free from the constraints of this natural and social state on human spirit.
But in real life, each of us is subject to spiritual, or natural, and social constraints, so we cannot surpass them. So, the so-called transcendent and pure state of mind that is free from natural and social norms is usually called "realm".
Because only when a person reaches that level, will you not consider the demands of nature or society. All the regulations about society can be seen as empty or worthless here, and all natural things may become meaningless in front of you.
So, transcendent things can only be presented at the level of realm, that is, in the highest state of thought, that is, in the absolute state of mind.
So, Hegel gave the concept of spirit, which is only a regulation of the social state of human beings. Therefore, under this premise, we can understand the development of human spirit.
So, in Hegel's view, on the one hand, he attempted to establish that the natural state of human beings and their social state, including their mental state, can be separated and regulated through their self-awareness, rational activities, and mental state, among others.
However, on a practical level, he also found that the regulations of these three are not completely distinct or precise, but rather influence and interact with each other. And this mutual influence and interaction give rise to a dialectical development process of thinking itself. So, in the process of governing nature and society, the absolute spirit governs these two different fields through dialectical methods.
And this dialectical process cannot occur in nature, nor in society, so it can only occur in the spiritual world.
Why is Hegelian dialectics always called conceptual dialectics?
The dialectics of this concept implies that it is not the dialectics of nature itself, nor is it the dialectics of social development itself. It is a dialectical method used by humans to grasp nature and society in a conceptual way.
The dialectical method used to grasp the development and changes of natural things can only be expressed and presented in the form of "concepts", so it is called conceptual dialectics.
From this, we can understand Hegel's absolute spirit, why it is regarded as a developmental process of the entire spirit itself, and at the same time, it is also a prelude to Hegel's entire philosophy.
Just like when we are going to play a big drama, the first thing it opens is the prologue, but this prologue is very long, and after the prologue is over, you don't have to watch the main drama afterwards. After watching the prologue, you have a general understanding of the ideas to be expressed and the content to be reflected in the evidence, because all the characters have already been presented in the livestock, and all the plot is implicitly included in the prologue.
The ultimate outcome of all subsequent story developments is actually predetermined in the prologue. So, after reading the prologue, you basically don't need to read the following articles.
Just like Hegel's logic, if you want to read this logic, you don't have to look at its ontology, you don't have to look at its essentialism, you don't have to look at its conceptualization, you only need to look at the introduction of this book, because the introduction of this book accounts for 50% of the entire book.
Of course, it doesn't mean that you don't watch at all, but after finishing the prologue, you basically understand the main content discussed in the middle of the following three discussions. Phenomenology of Spirit is actually a prelude to the realization of the entire logical system of spiritual philosophy from logic to natural philosophy.
So, you know why we emphasize that reading Hegel requires reading "Phenomenology of Spirit". If you read "Phenomenology of Spirit", you basically understand his philosophical development process as well as his heart.
But according to Deng Xiaomang, "Phenomenology of Spirit" is also the most difficult book to read. So, he is unwilling to first introduce "Phenomenology of Spirit" to students, but is willing to first introduce logic, which is "Small Logic". In the 1990s, a person approached some of our academic experts to talk about how they went towards academia. One of them had an article discussing how they went towards academia. Many people said that the introductory book to go towards academia was "Little Logic".
It's only after reading 'Little Logic' that I understand what philosophy is. Only then did I realize that philosophy is thinking about problems in this way. So, 'Little Logic' is my introductory book, my entry into the door of philosophy. Why?
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