Phenomenology of Spirit — G. W. F. Hegel

810 Phenomenology of Mind proper of the self. For this notion is, as we see, the knowledge that the action of the self within itself is all that is essential and all existence, the knowledge of this S'S: Subject as Substance and of the Substance as this knowledge of its action.

What we have done here, in addition, is simply to gather together the particular moments, each of which in principle exhibits the life of spirit in its entirety, and again to fix and secure the notion in the form of the notion, whose content was disclosed in those moments and had already presented itself in the form of a mode or type of consciousness.

This last embodiment of spirit — spirit which at once gives its complete and true content the form of self, and thereby realises its notion, and in doing so remains within its own notion — this is Absolute Knowledge. It is spirit knowing itself in the form of spirit, it is conceptual comprehensive knowledge through notions.

Truth is here not merely in itself absolutely identical with certainty ; it has also the typical form of certainty of self, or in its existence — i.e. for spirit knowing it — it is in the form of knowledge of itself. Truth is the content, which in the case of religion is not as yet at one with its certainty. This identification, however, is secured when the content has received the form and character of self.

By this means, what constitutes the very essence, viz. the notion, comes to have the nature of existence, i.e. assumes the form of what is objective to consciousness. Spirit, appearing before consciousness in this element of existence, or, what is here the same thing, produced by it in this element, is systematic Science. The nature, moments, and process of this type of

Absolute Knowledge 811 knowledge have then come about in such a way that this knowledge is pure self-existence of self-consciousness. It is ego, which is this concrete ego and no other, and at the same time, from its very nature, is mediated, or sublated universal ego. It has a content, which it distinguishes from itself ; for it is pure negativity, or self-diremption ; it is consciousness.

This content in its distinction is itself the ego, for it is the process of super- .fdPj seding itself, or the same pure negativity which constitutes ego. Ego is in it, qua distinguished, reflected into itself; only then is the content conceptualy comprehended (begriffen) when ego in its otherness is still at home with itself.

More precisely stated, this content is nothing else than the very process just spoken of; for the content is the spirit which traverses the whole range of its own being, and does this for itself qua spirit, by the fact that it possesses the form of the notion in its objectivity. As to the actual existence of this notion, science does not appear in time and in reahty till spirit has arrived at this stage of being conscious regarding itself.

Qu^ spirit which knows what it is, it did not exist before, and is not to be found at all till after the completion of the task of mastering and overcoming the imperfection of its form — the task of procuring for its consciousness and making itself aware of the shape of its inmost essence, and in this manner squaring its self-consciousness with its consciousness.

Spirit in and for itself, spirit in its self-contained reahty, is, when distinguished into its separate moments, self-existent knowledge, conceptual comprehension in general, which as such has not yet reached the substance, or is not in itself absolute knowledge.

812 Phenomenology of Mind Now in actual reality the knowing substance is arrived at earlier than its form, earher than the form of the notion. For the substance is the undeveloped inherent nature, the fundamental notion in its inert simphcity, the state of inwardness or the self of spirit not yet objectivified.

What is there, what does exist, is in the shape of unexpressed simplicity, the undeveloped immediate, or the object of presentative consciousness in general.

Because knowledge {Erkennen) is a spiritual state of consciousness, which is only aware of what imphcitly and inherently is so far as this is a being for the self and a being of the self or a notion — knowledge has on this account merely a barren object to begin with, in contrast to which the substance and the consciousness of this substance are richer in content.

Revelation in such a case is, in fact, concealment ; for 5'*e the substance is here still self -less existence and nothing but certainty of self is manifest or revealed to it. To begin with, therefore, it is only the abstract moments that fall to self-consciousness when dealing with the substance.

But since these moments are pure activities and must move forward by their very nature, selfconsciousness enriches itself till it has torn from consciousness the entire substance, and absorbed into itself the entire structure of the substance with all its constituent elements.

Since this negative attitude towards objectivity is positive as well, establishes and fixes the content, it goes on till it has produced these elements out of itself and thereby reinstated them once more as objects of consciousness. In the notion, knowing itself as notion, the moments thus make their appearance prior to the whole in its complete fulfilment ; the movement of these moments is the process by which