All technological advances involve extensions of the human body/mind, argued Marshall McLuhan. As such, no matter how disruptive a breakthrough may be, it is based on our own consciousness and its needs. Hegel knew that a primary motivator in life is recognition. But how is this need met in the interconnected world of the Internet? We see this in the profound shift occurring today from individual recognition to group recognition. According to McLuhan, this is due to the electronic revolution ove...
Feb 07, 2021•28 min
History is a key element of Hegel’s philosophy. Although he called history a “slaughter-bench,” he believed it to have purpose. This purpose, which can only be recognized after the fact, is greater freedom. This episode traces the increase in human freedom from the totem ritual of the prehistoric primitive horde through the male genetic bottleneck in the agrarian revolution to the Hegelian “knot” in liberal democracies. This knot, which needs to be worked out, is more prominent today than ever. ...
Jan 25, 2021•29 min
Hegel called true infinity “the chief maxim of philosophy.” This episode will review how finitude alone cannot be considered as reality, why traditional notions of infinity fall short, what Hegel’s true infinity actually means, that finitude and true infinity must be looked at together to fully grasp reality, and how this notion is truly miraculous in that our creative freedom is not entirely explicable by natural or scientific laws. Support the show...
Jan 10, 2021•22 min
The Hegelian Triad is perhaps the most recognized term associated with his philosophy. This is due to Hegel having shown reality to be dialectical, with three components. There is clear correspondence here to several mystical schools, including the teachings of G.I. Gurdjieff, Rosicrucianism, and Kabbalah. And there is also the Christian Trinity. This episode will analyze the Hegelian dialectic with respect to these traditional teachings. Support the show...
Dec 27, 2020•26 min
This episode discusses how the Hegelian dialectic is a reflection of reality itself rather than a unique philosophical method used to understand reality. It will show how common left-brain understanding (verstand) fails in comprehending dialectics by breaking it into three separate moments, rather than holistically seeing three inseparable sides of "every notion and truth whatever." As Friedrich Engels points out, the dialectical process of the reality of the being is "the true si...
Dec 13, 2020•23 min
Alexandre Kojève called Hegel’s take on historical and natural time a “basic error.” Kojève suggested three nested levels of time: historical, biological, and natural. Did Hegel get it wrong? The current episode explores this controversy in detail, including new evidence on whether the Big Bang was the actual start of natural time. The Jewish Star of David’s mystical relationship to the dimensions of spacetime is also discussed. Support the show...
Nov 30, 2020•19 min
That a creation event occurred is central to Western religion. Does Hegel endorse this position in his Philosophy of Nature? Opinions differ. This episode will analyze in detail, including professor Stephen Houlgate’s interpretation, as well as a review of what if any impact is seen from modern science and the Big Bang. Support the show
Nov 15, 2020•32 min
Hegel put upmost importance on the notion of human freedom. It is the goal that history's progress is striving for. This episode explores Hegel’s unique perspective on freedom, as well from the standpoint of time, scientific determinism, randomness, and quantum physics. Support the show
Nov 01, 2020•27 min
Hegel’s master-slave dialectic is one of the most famous passages in all philosophy. In it, self-consciousness, recognition, and identity play a critical role. Is the struggle historical? This episode analyzes the narrative and includes reviews of Kojève’s and Fukuyama’s take on it. Support the show
Oct 18, 2020•22 min
Anomalies within quantum physics and the nature of Time suggest that Mind may be fundamental to the Universe. Hegel would agree. This episode reviews the Hard Problem of Consciousness, the history of Panpsychism, and the structure of Kuhnian scientific revolutions. What's your paradigm? Support the show
Oct 03, 2020•30 min
Hegel is perhaps most famous for the Hegelian Dialectic. But to what exactly does this term refer? This episode will examine the history of dialectics, starting with the first dialectician, Zeno of Elea, up through Hegel's unique take on this. Hegel's notions of understanding and reason are also explored in terms of their respective roles in the dialectical process. Support the show...
Sep 20, 2020•27 min
In "The Master and His Emissary" (2009), British psychiatrist Iain McGilchrist shows how Hegel's notion of Reason versus Understanding relates to our current scientific understanding of the functions of the left and right brain hemispheres. We have an analytic, verbal consciousness in the left-brain, and a more holistic consciousness in the right-brain. Hegel’s famous treatment of the Unhappy Consciousness also can be related to this difference. This episode will explore these top...
Sep 08, 2020•24 min
A theodicy attempts to explains how an all good, all powerful, all knowing God permits evil in the world. While Hegel did not share this traditional view of God, he nonetheless presents a coherent theodicy of his own through Spirit’s (Geist’s) march through history. This episode will explore the age-old problem of evil in light of Hegel’s philosophy. Support the show
Aug 22, 2020•30 min
Philosophers and theologians have pondered questions concerning God, time, and eternity for more than two millennia. Hegel proposed a game changing reinterpretation of divine eternity. This episode will review Hegel’s contribution in light of current religious thought as well as recent developments in physics. Support the show
Aug 02, 2020•28 min
Was Hegel a mystic? His philosophy and mysticism are not necessarily mutually exclusive given Hegel’s definition of this term. This episode explores correspondence to Hegel in the Hermetic Mystery Schools, Gnosticism, and Kabbalah. Support the show
Jul 20, 2020•27 min
Dr. Martin Luther King’s favorite philosopher was Hegel. This episode explores MLK’s take on core elements of Hegel’s philosophy and its relation to King's own work. Support the show
Jul 06, 2020•19 min
Hegel remained a Lutheran all his life. But was he a traditional Christian? I believe not. Hegel’s take on the Christian narrative is quite different. The contemporary philosopher Slavoj Žižek calls it atheistic Christianity. A very brief review of Hegel’s presentation is that the Old Testament God “dies” with the New Testament Jesus, who becomes God as man; and when Jesus dies, the Spirit of God enters into us all. This episode will explore Hegel’s interpretation of Christianity and how it fits...
Jun 25, 2020•16 min
True Infinity is a cornerstone concept of Hegel's philosophy. In this episode I briefly review how Hegel gets to this concept in his Science of Logic. It is important to note that True Infinity is not a notion that Hegel pulls out of thin air, but is a concept that is rationally constructed though thought itself. I present here the very basic skeleton outline of his move from presuppositionless Being to True Infinity. Support the show...
Jun 21, 2020•20 min•Ep. 4
Hegel famously begins his Science of Logic with presuppositionless Being, which turns out to mean the same thing an Nothing, leading to the notion of Becoming. This important concept is explored in some depth. It is also compared to our own personal perception of the flow of time. Block spacetime versus time as a process is explored. The possibility of a time ultimately being a circle, which Hegel touched on, is also examined. Support the show...
Jun 21, 2020•22 min•Ep. 3
In this episode I discuss the broad outlines of Hegel's system, and compare it to current scientific thinking, including Darwinian evolution. I go into more detail on the meaning of Geist/Spirit/Mind, and how it evolves in human culture through art, religion, and philosophy. In addition to Hegel, specific ideas touched include those of John Archibald Wheeler, Stephen Jay Gould, and Noam Chomsky, Support the show...
Jun 21, 2020•19 min•Ep. 2
As one of the administrators of the large and globally growing Hegel Study Group on Facebook, I explain my reason for starting this podcast. I review my personal development through various psychological, philosophical, New Age, and scientific teachings. This introductory episode includes discussion of my progress through the I-Ching, Gurdjieff/Ouspensky, the Rosicrucian Order, A Course in Miracles, the nature of time, and how this eventually led me to the philosophy of G.W.F Hegel. Support the ...
Jun 21, 2020•25 min•Ep. 1
