The Cunning of Geist

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

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...

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...

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 presuppositio...

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 Cho...

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 Mirac...