The Partially Examined Life (Citizens): (Protected Content)
We conclude our treatment for the moment of the Spirit section of Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit, sec. 527-73.
Hegel’s diagnosis: The Enlightenment and faith only seem to be in conflict because they are two sides of “pure consciousness,” i.e. thought as a retreat from the actual world. So yes, if you see faith as mere belief, as a thought about some unprovable matter of fact, that is not going to stand critical scrutiny. Hegel’s conception of faith will instead be an involved, behavioral, social engagement with the world.
