 Welcome to this lecture on aspects of western philosophy module 24 and also lecture number 24. This lecture is going to be on the philosophy of one of the very important thinkers of western philosophy Hegel. And we would focus on the following topics in this lecture. We will first of all see the concept of Geist or spirit, mind, it is translated in various ways. Then we will concentrate on this method of dialectics or rather we would conclude this lecture with that in between we will discuss the concepts of being, non-being and becoming. They are all interconnected notions in Hegelian philosophy. Well, when we talk about the importance of a philosopher in the history of philosophy normally we consider two criteria. Number one the contributions he or she had made to the history of philosophy and number two the contemporary relevance of these thinkers. So in that sense we can see that you know many of these traditional or even ancient philosophers like Plato and Aristotle are still very important because even today their thoughts inspire us inspire philosophers. But when you try to understand when you try to evaluate Hegel in the light of these criteria I would rather say that both of them I mean if you consider both the aspects like the contributions to the history of philosophy, history of thought and history of human intellectual history we can put it in that way. The entire human intellectual history owe a lot to Hegelian philosophy. Hegel has inspired thinkers from all aspects all intellectual disciplines and of course the contemporary relevance of Hegel. There are many philosophers in the contemporary world go back to Hegel's thought notable philosopher Charles Taylor and many others and as far as Indian philosophical tradition is concerned there is a tendency among some Indian philosophers to compare the Hegelian system of absolute idealism with Vedanta. So in that sense Hegel is a very important thinker for us and we will start with concept of gist or absolute or spirit. But before that let us see some basic details about Hegel. He was born on August 27th 1770 and his association with Frederick Halderin a very important poet German poet and Schelling led him to read and spend more time on the critical philosophy of Immanuel Kant. So this association with these two great thinkers played a very important role in Hegel's philosophy and in Hegel's intellectual development. Then he published his first major philosophical work the phenomenology of spirit in 1807. There are many other works he published during his lifetime I am not going to mention about all of them. But the attempt is to understand how a philosopher such a great thinker like Hegel has actually started his philosophical career and probably in the next lecture we will concentrate on this whole idea of phenomenology of spirit. When we talk about the philosophical sources of Hegel the French rationalism of course is played a very important role and then comes the British empirism like all thinkers of modern enlightenment philosophy or post enlightenment thought. Hegel was also influenced by the two great traditions of rationalism and empiricism and also Kant's transcendental philosophy. Kant being a German it was quite natural that Kant would have influenced Hegelian philosophy Hegel's intellectual growth in a significant manner. But another very interesting influence on Hegelian philosophy is Romanticism which is a little contentious but at the same time we can see that you know Hegel's attempt to totalize everything or to develop a philosophy a totalizing theoretical framework owes a lot to Romantic approach or Romanticism. And another important contribution probably or influence of Romanticism is visible in Hegel's attempt to spiritualize philosophy which is little against the kind of prevailing systems or prevailing approaches to philosophy in the enlightenment age. Because enlightenment always try to see nature as material but we can see that Hegel was trying to spiritualize it. So we can see in Hegel's philosophy all these trends the rationalism, empiricism, transcendentalism or critical philosophy of Emmanuel Kant then Romanticism all these you know intellectual developments converge in a unique manner in Hegelian system of thought. Now when we talk about Hegel's task as a philosopher he was trying to formulate a philosophical theory that will reach to infinity. This again a very interesting aspect because when you talk about infinity particularly in the backdrop of enlightenment philosophy the critical philosophy of Emmanuel Kant. We have already examined in detail that when Kant discussed the critic of pure reason he drew a very clear line he said that it is impossible to think this side of the line. You can be here but never try to stretch it and try to apply the categories of human thinking or rational categories to your understanding of God or infinite reality or anything. So in that sense enlightenment philosophy drew a very clear line between finite and infinity something which is finite something which human beings with their finite minds can understand and there is an infinite reality which we can never probably comprehend. So this line is something which Hegel was trying to cross. Then again formulated totalizing philosophy that comprehends all reality when you talk about all reality I mean it includes all aspects of reality all phases of reality not just one. For instance for enlightenment reality is constitutive of the material domain rather ultimate real is something which is unknowable according to Kantian philosophy and the phenomenal reality is something which is confined to the domains of percepts and concepts. So it is basically talks about scientific understanding but for Hegel history is equally important like physics. So in one sense we can say that Hegel is historicizing philosophy or rather is a historian of philosophy is definitely not the first historian of philosophy or first philosopher of history but Hegel's contributions in this domain this area is phenomenal. So in that sense we have to understand this particular standpoint that trying to develop formulate a totalizing philosophy that comprehends all reality the historical psychological creative philosophical scientific physical all aspects of reality into one system. A philosophy that accounts for all human experience the totalizing philosophy that incorporates all knowledge and wisdom present in science history religion politics art and literature are all synthesized in the unique manner in Hegelian system. So in that sense there are some philosophers them historians of philosophy would say that Hegel was the most perfect philosopher because everything converges into Hegelian system and the influence of romanticism is quite visible as far as this aspect is concerned. We will have a brief look at what romanticism is to understand to appreciate Hegelian philosophy in a more comprehensive manner. It is a new moment in the realms of literature philosophy and arts there are romantic poet, semantic artist who adopted a kind of very unique and very different approach to nature the relationship between man and nature the importance they have given to experiencing nature the importance they have given to emotions say for example people like Wordsworth the importance given to emotions passions the passionate and experiential way in which you relate yourself with nature. All these things were emphasized by the romantic thinkers and artist they advocated by artist and intellectuals who rejected the enlightenment philosophy dominated by reason logic and mathematics as we have already seen enlightenment philosophy was dominated by these aspects reason logic. For instance we have seen it in Immanuel Kant used literature to express the inner world of human feeling. So that is what I meant the world of feelings emotions and passions were highlighted by these thinkers. They protest against the domination of science in culture highlighted the inability of science in exhausting the complexities of human experience. For instance how do you experience a flower the beauty of a flower it is more than just having a perception concepts as Kant has mentioned about it. There is something more than that you know you experience is that part of an environment or being part of that experience all these things are emphasized by this romantic thinkers. It misses the totality of experiences and the feelings associated with it and to understand the world not science but experience as it is lived. So there is a concept of lived experiences which is emphasized by them and naturally their conception of reality is also drastically different from the enlightenment conception where reality is material as I already mentioned reality is spiritual nature is spiritualized by the romandist which you can see a trend in Hegel also. And nature is not like Newton's mechanical world but it is a living spirit which we will find in the conception of Geist or spirit in Hegel. The will is important and not reason because for the enlightenment reason was the major tool for understanding the world but for these romandist it is the will which plays an important role which does justice to the non-rational aspects of human life. The idea of polarity human thought and feeling are characterized by a polarity there is a two sidedness which again figures in Hegelian philosophy in the form of dialectics in the form of contradictions we will see it later. And again in the pursuit of the infinite never get confined to one more of thought which is again Hegelian. Hegel absorbs these insights because for Hegel also the whole alone is true. Truth is the whole not one particular concept is only a partial truth it can never represent the whole of truth. The whole of truth cannot be represented by one concept of one more of thinking. So, this is again Hegelian and never be static. With this understanding in the background let us come to examine some of the important features of Hegelian philosophy. An observation by Bertrand Russell says that Hegel's philosophy is very difficult he is I should say the hardest to understand of all great philosophers probably that is true to some extent to a philosopher like Bertrand Russell who subscribes to the analytic tradition of philosophy. The he is more Kantian in that way is more mathematical in that. For example, Russell we would see later in the course of this lecture series that would be appreciating more a mathematical scientific approach to philosophy which Hegel is not subscribing to. Hegel's central thought is as I already mentioned only the hall is real a totalizing approach this is visible in the concept of the gist or spirit being the central concept which unifies everything. So, Hegel was trying to formulate a concept which could successfully comprehend all aspects of reality and unifies everything that can be understood and that concept is the concept of gist or spirit. All partial facts are abstractions they have to be brought into connection with the hall in order to gain validity. So, this is again a very important Hegelian notion that taking things in isolation is to abstract them isolate them from the picture of reality reality is constituted of the hall. Reality is hall the self-subsistence of finite things is an illusion nothing can exist in isolation everything is necessarily connected with the rest. So, this is the essence of Hegelian philosophy in one sense and here Russell says once again Hegel seeks to demonstrate nothing exists independently of relationships against separateness influence of mysticism is visible in this context this is according to Bertrand Russell he interestingly says that here as far as this aspect of Hegelian philosophy is concerned he is influenced by his early mystic affiliations because Hegel started his career with I mean he joined a monastery and from there he learned theology and philosophy. So, this early affiliation with mysticism would have prompted him to conceive things in this way this is Russell's opinion. Now, let us come to Hegel's concept of reality as I mentioned here the stresses on the hall the complex system comparable to an organism against Spinoza for whom substance is a simple or reality is a simple substance. So, here on the one hand we can see that Hegel was also emphasizing like Spinoza did for Spinoza also there is only one substance one reality that is the substance and for Hegel also there is a kind of I mean he two points to a notion of reality a notion of absolute spirit or mind which is universal, but the difference is that here the reference is to a complex system which is comparable to an organism as far as Hegelian system is concerned. Separate things are not an illusion according to Hegel each has a greater or lesser degree of reality which is not the case with Spinoza and many others those who are modest, but for Hegel the separate things the individual things are not illusions and again the reality of separate things consist in them being an aspect of the hall. So, at the same time Hegel emphasizes on the importance of the hall. So, the individual gains its meaning and its significance only in connection with its being a meaningful part of the hall. The hall is the absolute. So, there are concepts these are some of the concepts very important concepts which Hegel introduces in his philosophy the concept of absolute mind, spirit, geist and there are several terms which Hegel uses in this context and again this reality for Hegel again it is very interesting to note this difference the difference between the conceptions of reality advocated by Hegel and how he has formulated it as opposed to the enlightenment conception. In enlightenment conception for example, the Kantian view of reality the phenomenal world is a world of cause and effect though this is something which the mind attributes to the world that is true we are the law givers according to Kant, but at the same time it is governed by a cause effect relationship the phenomenal world is governed by a cause effect relationship which to some extent Hegel also except, but he makes a major deviation here he says that it is governed by the principle of teleological causality. So, here is very close to Aristotle. Aristotle also has a conception of teleology that everything has a purpose a higher purpose to be realized and there are two principles which are relevant in Aristotelian philosophy at potentiality and actuality and in the process of change according to Aristotle every change is evolution we have already seen it in one of our previous lectures. Since, every change is an evolution in the process of evolution what happens is that an object realizes materializes its potentialities or actualizes the potentialities. So, here again something like that we can see that everything progresses towards what the absolute according to Hegel. So, governed by the principle of teleological causality and not just mechanical efficient causality the meaning of each stage is realized in the hall which is the rational and again a revision of the conception of rationality which is advocated by the modern philosophers by enlarge and particularly the enlightenment thinkers like Kant to overcome Kantian separation of Nomina and Phenomena because if you approach reality with the Kantian model then it is impossible to know the Nomina there is a clear separation as I already mentioned a line is drawn between Nomina and Phenomena something which you can know and the reality which you can never know that is because Kant and enlightenment philosophers advocated a very peculiar conception of rationality by means of which reality is comprehended. This rationality has two aspects I have already mentioned it in my previous lectures the percepts and concepts with the interaction of these two reality the phenomenal world is revealed, but something which lies beyond that the nominal reality can never be known, but Hegel was consciously making an attempt to overcome this dichotomy to know Nomina and that is why the principle of teleological causality is important in Hegelian system its identification spirit as activity. So, reality it is being identified as a spiritual phenomena as an activity not as a static thing, but as an activity which comprehends everything even the comprehending mind even the mind which understands it is also part of that. So, it encompasses everything the conception of reality and then again there we can see Aristotle's influence where identification of the fully substantial being with spirit which is in essence is activity. So, here also we can see that reality or the absolute or the spirit the absolute mind is conceived as an activity as a process which progressively takes us to the reason to the infinity. Again things have meaning the process is rational there is a rational order. So, this is another important feature of Hegelian thought that he says that this process by means of which reality exists reality itself is a process not a static entity, but it is a process a dynamic process, but this process has a meaning its teleological and also it is a rational process it is a process of rational unfolding we can mention in that way. The hall is like an organism that is rational purposeive and with full meaning. Again the Kantian approach is not suitable to know it because the Kantian approach will never accept this comprehensive perspective for Kant there is always a separation the subject and object are different for Kant for Hegel the subject and object can never be different both are comprehended or both are encompassed by the single reality called the absolute. Then again Kantian rationality is insufficient in knowing this process because Kantian rationality employs the twelve categories of understanding which limits everything to a certain structure which is provided by the mind transcendental a perception which is not acceptable for Hegel. Now, let us come to the Kantian problem because we have been discussing about Kant and Kantian model of rationality a lot. Let us see what happens here the ego the mind because we have already seen that Kant was I mean it is being stated that Kant is initiating a kind of Copernican revolution in philosophy and this Copernican revolution consists in placing the subject the mind the ego at the center of the knowing activity. As I have already mentioned in this lecture sometime back that we are the low givers of the universe this is the Kantian position. Now, what is this ego the low giver the ego or mind according to Kant is the condition of the possibility of things appearing to the subject. So, this is the Kantian position it is a precondition that is why it is called transcendental critical philosophy because it talks about the condition of the possibility of things appearing to the subject and again ego is an abstract account of the forms of thought or categories of understanding. So, Kantian ego can be understood in terms of this an abstract account of the forms of thought or categories of understanding there are twelve categories of understanding according to Kant. So, Kantian ego can be equated with that the empirical ego can be equated with that and again reason for in that framework is a faculty of the soul or ego constituted of a combination of principles forms or rules according to which we think. So, these qualities quantity modality and relations these twelve categories would enable us to think in a particular way. So, the world as such can never be known, but we understand it by attributing certain principles and laws from our side to it that is the Kantian peculiarity and mind is separated from the world. As I mentioned mind is the low giver of the world. So, it is not only epistemologically different from the world, but is also ontologically different from the world. Forms of thought from what they are forms of thought mind from what they are forms of the world. So, Kantian philosophy introduces several such categories there is the mind the domain of the ego the low giver the forms of thought then there is a world the phenomenal world what we know and there is a nominal domain of reality which will never know. So, these are all various aspects of Kantian philosophical systems and again the problem is that there is a gap between mind and the world. There is a gap between the mind and the world here which can be better articulated by separating the phenomena with the nominal. The nominal reality is constitutive of higher realities which can never be known and the phenomenal reality is something which is spatially temporarily given to us which we experience. So, this gap between nominal and phenomena is actually the gap between mind and the world and the problem of the nominal or things in themselves which can never be known. Things in themselves can never be known again problem of antinomies which we have already discussed when we try to apply these categories of understanding to the nominal world or entities in the nominal world reality as such say for example, when we try to understand the solve about which we do not have percepts, but we try to categorize it without having percepts we are ultimately bound to end up with antinomies where you have certain contradictory statements which apparently both of them seem to be equally valid. And now Hegel's phenomenology of spirit attempts to give an alternate account of this relationship and show how that this gap can be overcome. So, this is what ultimately tries to say phenomenology of the mind or phenomenology of spirit which basically talks about the evolution of the human mind from through several stages to the ultimate stage where it reaches the absolute or which where it realizes in the absolute. So, this process we will examine in detail in the next lecture. So, it is here with this work Hegel tries to overcome the distinction between nominal and phenomenal realities. And when we talk about Kantian philosophy Vizavi Hegelian thought Kant we had seen already that was influenced by the physical sciences and thinking is confined to the scientific level that is why he has this model of thinking which is constitutive of percepts and concepts. Then again contradictions in thinking are inevitable at this level because you have you are limited to the percepts and concepts and when you are trying to apply this to a world which is apparently not limited or not confined to any of these constraints then you are bound to end up in contradictions. Hegel on the other hand adopts the approach of a historian this is what I mentioned earlier that there is an approach of a historian historical approach in philosophy thinking as an activity of spirit or reason and not confined to the scientific level and he rises above contradictions to their synthesis. So, that we will see in the later part of this lecture the concept of synthesis which is the culmination of the dialectical process. Now, Hegel's view of reason we can see that reason is the law according to which being is produced constituted and unfolding. He has a very an extremely comprehensive concept of rationality or reason where it is a law according to which being is produced the entire reality is not different from reason. So, rational and real are one and the same. So, later on Hegel would proclaim real is rational and rational is real. It is constituted and unfolded in reason and both subjective faculty and objective reality are constitutive of this reason. See this is again a very important deviation from the enlightenment conception in the enlightenment conception we have seen that there is a subject and the object they are different from each other and their constitutive of different realities ontologically different epistemologically different. But in Hegelian system both the subjective and the objective faculties are constituted by reason. See reason according to Hegel is a subjective faculty as the essence and norm of our thinking or our thought the way in which we think what our thinking itself is and on the other side it is an objective reality as the essence and law of the evolution of things. We have seen this whole notion of categories of thinking when we have discussed tension philosophy and Hegel also was interested in this idea of categories the categories of human thinking. But the major difference is that for Hegel these categories of thinking are not just subjective elements of thinking as Kant conceived it is it is not just subjective elements, but this categories of thinking are according to him the categories of reason itself and reason according to him as I already mentioned encompasses comprehens everything it involves everything. So, in that sense they are the basic law of the universe of reality as such are also modes of being of the things themselves. So, they are the categories of thinking are not only the subjective elements which we possess, but are also the modes of being. So, he is ontologizing them in one sense we can say not empty frames the categories are not just empty frames which receive their concerns sorry which receive their contents from without, but are substantial forms that give themselves their own content. See for instance in Kant these categories are empty frames and Kant himself says that percepts without concepts are blind and concepts without percepts are empty. So, these categories remain empty if they are not provided with percepts from without, but for Hegel they are not so without by their substantial forms the categories of thinking are substantial forms that give themselves their own content. Both the forms which mold my thought and the stages of eternal creation the categories and here we can see that there are certain very clear objections raised against Kant's idea of pure concepts. In limiting the number of concepts Kant has said that it is 12 and Hegel opposes this conception in limiting them to the use of sensory experience Kant would say that sorry Hegel would say that the categories of thinking should be employed in order to know the hall of reality. And then again in limiting the knowledge gained by the categories to the status of appearance the division can maintains between phenomena and nomena. Phenomenal reality is the only reality which we can know with the help of these categories and according to Kant these categories these phenomenal reality the phenomenal reality is a mere appearance reality as such can never be known. So, in that sense Kant has confined limited what we experience to the domain of mere appearances and he opposes the deduction of categories in terms of empirical enumeration of pure categories. So, here again we can see categories of thinking there is a distinction are not separate from, but are intimately connected with each other even in Kant and he attempted an a priori deduction of the categories and empirical enumeration of pure concepts which Hegel opposes. For Hegel these categories of thinking are transformation of one and the same fundamental category the idea of being. Because for Hegelian philosophy in the true sense of the term there is only one reality which encompasses everything that is the idea of being and not just empirical enumerations, but a real deduction which Hegel aims it and in order to deduce them in the real sense Hegel wants us to just leave them just allow them to unfold and observe what is happening. This point onwards we can try to understand what constitutes Hegel's method. Number one Hegel was trying to build upon Kant he retains Kant's idea of the primacy concepts have our sense impressions. Concepts are important in Kant for Hegel also concepts retain their primacy of our sense impressions, but in a very significantly different way. Again to build upon the romantics extend the use of rational concepts to understand the vast variety of experience and knowledge in psychology, religion, history, culture, literature and art. So, here we can see a merging of Kantianism with romanticism the Kantian categories which are rational and the romantic approach of reality as a hall to which incorporates all aspects of reality, psychology, religion, history, culture, literature and art. And again to construct a new theory of reality a new metaphysics. So, in this context we can examine the metaphysical task of Hegel it is to bring the vast reaches of the human spirit into unification in one theory. So, everything that human spirit endeavors to or everything that the human spirit covers and compasses to bring them into one theory to bring together the totality of concepts used in the vast stretches of all knowledge all the arts and sciences, religion, political thought and history which have already seen the totalizing tendency in Hegelian philosophy. All these aspects of reality are brought under the concept of absolute spirit the Geist which is rational. So, in that sense the concept of Geist or spirit or we can even translate it as mind because the German word Geist means spirit mind or soul and for both spirit and mind Germans use the word Geist and for Hegel it is both rational and rationally comprehensible. We can also understand it for Kant there is an important difference here for Kant it belongs to the domain of ideas which we can never understand, but here it is both rational and rationally comprehensible in logical structure in natural science and in historical process. So, it is the Geist is manifested in all the aspects of life in logical structures in natural sciences and also in the process of history the same spirit the same Geist is manifested. To show that thought and the matter of thought are not separate the separation was made by all epistemologists subject and object the epistemological traditions both rationalism and empiricism emphasize on this distinction, but Hegel was trying to sort of overcome this to show that thought and the matter of thought are not separate forms of thought arise historically through the interaction of subject and object. So, again this interactive aspect is emphasized by Hegel because he is approaching philosophy from the perspective of a historian. Reality as a hall including nature humanity history is shaped by and is a manifestation of Geist mind or spirit. So, everything every reality every aspect of reality every sphere of reality is nothing but a manifestation of Geist or spirit. It exhibits self-consciousness or self-articulation and the manifestation of the self-consciousness of Geist in psychology history religion drama art and philosophy. So, everything every human endeavor the manifestation of this spirit is visible according to Hegel and in this context he proclaims that the real is rational and the rational is real. The absolute spirit or God is the ultimate reality. Reality is a complex totality of rational concepts constituting absolute spirit or God. Again the real is the rational and the rational is real. The totality of thought is absolute and infinite unlike the finite minds of human beings Geist is the objective mind. So, here he makes a distinction between the objective mind and the finite subjective minds of the human beings. Our minds are finite which tries to understand the infinite mind and this understanding is possible because our finite the so called finite mind is nothing but a manifestation of that universal mind. We are now going to discuss that aspect in the next lecture when we discuss the phenomenology of spirit. But the point here to be noted is that reality is a complex totality of rational concepts constituting absolute spirit of or God. So, there is nothing else but only this rational structures and here there is a very interesting court from Alfred Weber's book he says I quote according to Hegel the common source of the ego and of nature does not transcend reality. So, in one sense he advocates a kind of immanence which is Aristotelian. It is imminent in it mind and nature are not aspects of the absolute or a kind of screen behind which an indifferent and lifeless God lies concealed, but it is successive modes. The absolute is not immovable, but active. It is not the principle of nature and of mind, but is itself successively nature and mind the succession this process this perpetual generation of things is the absolute itself. So, everything is included under the notion of absolute. So, let us discuss Hegel's absolute idealism in this context reality according to Hegel is rational conceptual totality and then integrated and total structure of conceptual truths. So, it is the totality of the conceptual truth reveals itself in all areas of human experience and knowledge which I have already mentioned any aspect of human life you take any aspect any sphere any domain of human life in all such aspects you know you can see the manifestation of this absolute. Reality is rational the vast structure of rational concepts that include all areas and again the real is rational, but not different one what is existent. Naturally there could we can ask the question all that exist in front of us the events historical events the material things how can you say that they are all rational what he says is what Hegel says is that when you say real is rational and rational is real the real is rational, but not different from what is existent. He only says that the rational is the existent object more deeply understood the rational structures need to be understood for that you have to really go to the depth. So, a deeper understanding of reality reveals the rational structures of it again the deeper understanding of the vast realms of physical and organic nature and of society of history of psychology of everything reveals the rational structures. Rational concepts are not independent or transcendental apart from the concrete world like Plato for example for Plato the rational ideas are independent of it, but for him it is not so. So, here you can see an aspect of Aristotelianism rational concepts constitute their rational core of the world of things. Reality is knowable its rational structures are knowable since human reason and reality share the same rational structure our finite man can know the infinite reality this is against the Kantian idea the Kantian separation between phenomena and phenomena the absolute mind incorporates all differences. So, in that sense the absolute mind is a unity in diversity because it includes everything even contradictions are part of it the absolute reality manifest itself to us in ordinary experience in logic and natural sciences in psychology politics and history in painting poetry and architecture and in religion and philosophy all aspects of life everywhere what is revealed what is manifested is the absolute reality the one and the same absolute reality and its rational structures its rational structures are revealed to us because we also possess that rational structure our mind has that ability to think this actually takes us to the problem of dialectical method. The absolute being and logic the absolute being is the common root of the categories of pure concepts it is the emptiest and at the same time the most comprehensive reality it is emptiest because it is not anything for example, quote and quote it is not quote and quote something or quote and quote some specific entity which can be determined which can be limited. So, in that sense it is empty but at the same time it is most comprehensive reality because it is everything something which is everything cannot be something that is a actually the contradiction which later on Hegel resolves with the concept of synthesis the most abstract and the most real the most elementary and the most exalted notion all our concepts express modes of being and our transformation of the idea of being. So, everything all our concepts all that exists outside everything is a mode of a manifestation of this absolute reality. Now, what is the nature of being how does being which is everything becomes anything else this is the problem which I just mentioned something which is everything the guy is the spirit includes everything it involves everything it encompasses everything something which is everything cannot be something how can it be something then and virtue of what principle or inner force is it modified into something. So, that we can determine what it is how does being which is complete and static initiate movements so that it can become something see in order to become something there should be a movement and movement presupposes what a space to move but the concept of being includes everything and there is no space left even that is also part of it. So, how can you conceive of a movement which would make the absolute something being is the most universal notion and hence the poorest and the emptiest since it is the most universal it cannot be anything specific it cannot be anything determinate it becomes totally indeterminate because it is everything something which is everything cannot be something to be something it needs to be determined as a thing but being is by definition indeterminate if you define it or determine it as one thing then it is not everything but being without any determination is non-being. So, that is the paradox here on the one hand since being is the most universal and the most complete it is also for the same reason it is the poorest and the emptiest in order to become something it has to limit itself which means that it has to cease to be being since it is being it cannot be something but being without any determination is what non-being being pure and simple is equivalent to non-being it is both being and not being both itself and its opposite which is under normal circumstances philosophers consider this as a paradox this as a contradiction which cannot be entertained because philosophers or logicians are again such contradictions but Hegel says that wait hold on this is not the time to say that you know contradictions are to be opposed because contradictions constitute the very core of reality according to Hegel. So, here he introduces the concept of becoming it is both an immovable and barren thing and for that reason nothing or not being because it is both it becomes something and the contradiction contained in being is resolved in the notion of becoming or development. So, there is being and non-being and this contradiction between being and non-being because this being is at the same time being and non-being a contradiction and this contradiction involves a tension this tension initiates a movement and as a result the contradiction contained in being is resolved in the notion of becoming or development becoming is both being and non-being both are contained and reconciled in notion of becoming. So, as a result what happens something else evolves it becomes something and when it becomes something again the problem is that a new contradiction results which is resolved by a new synthesis and so on until we reach the absolute idea. So, here we can see notion of dialectics. So, Hegel was interestingly proposing that we should reach the absolute through contradictions, contradictions are not something which we should be afraid of or we should completely refrain ourselves from, but contradictions are the very core of reality, contradictions are the very core of human thinking. Once you approach human thinking, once you approach rationality, human rationality and once you approach reality historically this thing would be very clear. Each contradiction is reconciled in a unity as synthesis, this is what Hegel says and this is contradicted further and then synthesized is another unity, contradictions and unities go on disappearing and reappearing in the process of development until resolved in the final unity of the absolute idea. So, it is something like you have a contradiction between two opposing ideas and as a result there is a third idea which is the result of a synthesis of these two opposing ideas and this synthesis itself forms an idea it assert something and automatically generates its contradiction. So, the thesis then becomes or the thesis automatically generates its antithesis. So, you have thesis and antithesis which would generate a synthesis and once the synthesis is generated the synthesis itself becomes a thesis asserts itself as a position which generates its own antithesis owing to its limitations and finite nature, anything finite is incomplete. So, any finite thesis is bound to generate its opposition or its antithesis and then which would ultimately result in a creative conflict of these two a contradiction which will generate a synthesis which would again become a thesis synthesis antithesis synthesis. So, it goes on and on and finally reaches the infinity or absolute idea. Now, contradictions exist not only in thought, but also in the things themselves this is what Hegel says it is not just confined to human thinking or thought, but objects the world itself the reality itself is composed of or its constitutive of such contradictions. Antinomies pointed out by Kant are natural they lie in reason and in reality contradictions lie in the nature of reason and since reality itself is reason or rational reality is also bound to be constitutive of contradictions. Condition found in the idea of being is resolved in the notion of becoming. So, you have concepts of being non-being and becoming thesis antithesis and synthesis. In the process of becoming being determines itself explains the process of historical development and the development of human thinking as well the dialectical element in thought and reality. The dialectic is manifest in every phenomena natural organic political and historical. So, in all aspects of life in all spheres of life reality can be seen as a manifestation of this dialectic. It constitutes the moving soul of scientific progress. We can see that a scientist or a scientific theory is being advanced. Since it is a definite finite scientific conceptualization it is bound to generates its antithesis its opposition and in that creative conflict between this thesis and antithesis the opposition the conflict a synthesis a better a mature theory evolves and in that way science progresses. So, human thinking progresses through dialectical process. Conditions are the motive force of all reality the principle of all movement and of all activity we find in reality and they are not unthinkable according to Hegel because thinking itself constitute the very core structure of thinking itself. And contradiction is the root of all life and movement because without contradiction everything would become static everything tends to change or pass into its opposites without contradictions everything would be that existence static externality nothing would be happening but everything would be static without that. And again it suggests that no single concept represents the whole truth truth is the whole the position which we began with this lecture that the whole alone is true all concepts are partial truths. And when we talk about contradictions and their overcoming truth like rational reality is a living process constituted by the entire system of concepts nature does not stop at contradictions but over comes it. So, what Hegel was trying to argue is that there are contradictions in nature in human thinking there are contradictions in reality nature or reality does not stop with contradictions. There is always a tendency to overcome each event of contradiction to a higher form synthesis then again it encounters a contradiction over there which is again synthesized or which is again overcome and the process take us to absolute infinity. The process encounters contradictions and overcome them and resolve all of them in the absolute reason can capture this moving reality with the application of the method of dialectic. So, the dialectical method which is a method suggested by Hegel to understand this process dialectical method basically suggests that reason is not a static faculty of the human mind. It is a product of our social heritage the historical development of our social group. So, this is where you know the historian in Hegel is relevant in understanding his philosophical concept. So, he says that reason is the product of our social heritage the historical development of our social group and reason encounters contradictions and proceed by synthesizing them in that process. And dialectical thinking is a process that seeks to do justice to moving living organic existence. So, this is something which Hegel talks about reality it is not a static entity it is a living dynamic moving reality. What is dialectic? Dialectic is a very old philosophical concept which is present in ancient Greek tradition the pre-socatic thinkers themselves have discussed about it or the element of dialectic is visible in their thinking as well. Say for example, when ancient Greek thought talked about the theory of four elements earth, water, fire and air where reality is composed of earth and air which are sort of contradictory fire and water which are also in opposition. But these apparently contradicting or opposing elements when they come together they constitute a reality. So, this conception of dialectic is present even in the thinking of the ancient Greek philosophers and the history of dialectic Socrates plays a very important role and also play to because Socrates uses dialectic is employs it the use of argument in order to make the opponent contradict himself. We have already examined this in the process of Socrates dialogues what happens is Socrates persistently raises certain questions and in that process make his opponent contradict. So, the contradictions are exposed in that process. So, you make your own or rather the concepts which you hold as true to contradict themselves and then realize that there is some problem in it in the whole process of thinking. But Hegel's concept of dialectic is it is different it is rather richer than any of the other concepts because he conceives it as a synthesis of opposites. Every concept we have has limitations and hence will pass over into its opposite a negation of itself. So, in one sense the contradictions according to Hegel we have already seen is a very principle the very core of reality. So, in that sense the scope of contradictions of the scope of dialectic is rather infinite in Hegel's philosophy. But when it comes to reason he understands it in this way every concept or every proposition which we assert has its limitations and hence will pass over into its opposite a negation of itself. It is a process which consists of three stages or moments thesis, antithesis and synthesis which I have already explained. The three moments of dialectic is the dialectical process move from a first stage by proposing a thesis. Say for example, the entire universe revolved around earth which is a geocentric view of Ptolemy. So, here a thesis is proposed advocated, but since any and every position every concept or every thinking concept is bound to be partial and incomplete. The thesis which is advocated that the entire universe revolves around earth Ptolemy is bound to generate its own antithesis which says that this is not true. It is not true that the entire universe revolves around earth owing to the finite nature and finite feature of any single proposition or any single concept. Now, there is a thesis and an antithesis. So, the dialectical process moves from a first stage by proposing a thesis. This moves to a second stage which negates opposes or contradicts the first and thus initiates an antithesis. It is not the case and now we have in the history of astronomy Copernicus who proposes a heliocentric view which is much advanced view, a mature view than the geocentric view of Ptolemy. This opposition is overcome by a third stage in which the opposing stages are synthesized. The opposing stages of Ptolemy's view and not Ptolemy. Ptolemy and not Ptolemy is synthesized in Copernicus. So, in one sense we can say that Copernican view the synthesis presupposes both thesis and antithesis. Antithesis presupposes the thesis. So, all these things are interconnected in that way. So, if you concentrate or if you focus on only one of them you seem to think that this is a contradiction this needs to be avoided, but Hegel would say that this is possible because of that. So, there is an interconnectedness between these things. In synthesis a new concept emerges as a higher truth which transcends the theses and the antithesis. So, the three functions of the synthesis number one to cancel the conflict between theses and antithesis because between Ptolemy and not Ptolemy the conflict between these two needs to be cancelled by Copernican view which is much superior. To preserve or retain the element of truth within the theses and antithesis and then the third one is to transcend the opposition by sublimating the conflict into a higher truth. So, the higher truth is the Copernican truth which is which asserts a heliocentric view. And let us conclude here our discussion on this. If you examine this process we can see that this process of dialectic of encountering contradictions and overcoming them of having theses, antithesis and synthesis involves the process of negation, preservation and elevation. So, what happens a theses that is initiated is negated example Ptolemy's geocentric view is negated it is not Ptolemy we can put it in this way symbolically Ptolemy and not Ptolemy by the Ptolemy's view by virtue of being a finite assertion a partial assertion generates its own antithesis automatically generates its own antithesis. Now, the synthesis preserves both the theses and antithesis in Copernican view Ptolemy's preserved in terms of being what made the former possible Copernican view was possible or rather Copernicus even conceived of such a problem because of Ptolemy and not Ptolemy because of the theses and the antithesis which was initially initiated the synthesis was made possible because of the theses and antithesis. So, in that sense it is not only negated, but also preserved and then there is another stage the synthesis also elevates as the new account is superior to both the theses and the antithesis. So, in that sense the dialectical process involves these three stages negation preservation and elevation. We will discuss these aspects and some of the other details relating to these aspects and some of the other important dimensions of this dialectical method in the next lecture where we will also be examining the concept of spirit the phenomenology of spirit in a different way. So, we will wind up this lecture here. Thank you.