An Outline of a Hegelian Theory of Divine Revelation
摘要
In broad terms, this chapter advances the proposed Hegelian articulation of divine revelation. The following indispensable features receive acknowledgement and extensive consideration: the historico-logical grounding of Hegel’s religious phenomenology, the distinction between inward-facing and outward-facing divine disclosure, and the tripartite layering of religious consciousness along with the dialectical-speculative kinesis therein. Previous scholarly forays into Hegel’s phenomenology of religion fall into the trap of either (a) entirely eschewing the logical grounding of Hegel’s religious phenomenology due to a lack of precise alignment between his logical categories of determination and his metaphysical concepts of religion (what I deem “the content-identity thesis” in Chap. 3 ), (b) reductively grounding Hegel’s religious phenomenology in historical considerations alone, or (c) hastily rejecting any grounding for the phenomenology in its transitions between formations of consciousness. I strive to correct this trend by proposing a ground consisting of co-constituting logical and historical considerations. This allows for the subsequent extrapolations to inward-facing and outward-facing divine revelation as well as the dialectical-speculative movement within and between formations of religious consciousness.