'The Phenomenology of Spirit' is a central concept in my own modified, extended rendition of Hegel's work -- 'Hegel's Hotel' -- taken from the title of Hegel's most important philosophical work by the same name, written in 1807, although it is unfortunately more often translated today as 'The Phenomenology of Mind'. The semantic problem hinges around the German word 'Geist' which means both 'spirit' and 'mind' in German.
Unfortunately, the word 'mind' does not conjure up the same type of idea that 'spirit' does -- the latter of which is generally more easily connected to to the ideas of 'feeling' and 'soul' than the word 'mind' is.
Hegel's famous book takes us on an analytic trip of collective-and-individual-historical-evolutionary-determinism from primitive times to German Idealism, culminating with Hegel's work, and heading through the dialectic process of 1. thesis; 2. anti-thesis; 3. synthesis; (although Hegel never used these actual words to describe this essential dialectic process) and start the process all over again at a higher level of evolution....the ultimate end of human growth and evolution supposedly culminating in what Hegel called 'The Absolute' as in 'Absolute Godliness' where man reaches a level of consciousness and self-consciousness where he has, in effect, actualized God's creative intent -- and let it be added, no matter how 'ugly' it may have gotten in the very volatile dialectic movement and actualization of human thinking and behavior to get to this ultimate evolutionary ending of 'actualizing God's creative intent'. In Hegel's idealistic picture of human evolution, some very nasty human behavior -- such as, say The French Revolution and The Reign of Terror -- will eventually end in a 'happy, idealistic human ending where man ultimately reaches God's own level of Absolute Consciousness'...
For me -- and Hegel's Hotel: GAP-DGB Philosophy-Psychology -- 'The (Multi-Dialectic) Phenomenology of Spirit' works quite differently than what Hegel had in mind -- much less 'cerebral' and much more 'spiritual'; still partly historically and dialectically deterministic, but at the same time, potentially much more individual and multi-dialectic-romantic-humanistic-existential, as well as being potentially multi-dialectic-romantic-humanistic-existential in a larger group sense as well.
Let me see if I can explain.
My modified and extended version of Hegel's 'phenomenology of spirit' is predicated on three working assumptions:
1. Man is essentially 'multi-bipolar' and 'dialectic engagement' is necessary to 'harmonize' our conflicted, opposing bipolarities so that they are working together within us and outside of us towards the same end, rather than tearing us apart -- ending in self-destruction and self-tragedy (Nietzschean style)....Conflicted bipolarities, unrecognized, disowned, dissociated from each other, and/or otherwise unresolved within the personality can drag us down into the abyss of self-destruction and self-defeat; in contrast, recognized, accepted, and resolved 'self-splits' can move us more forcefully and integratively towards actualizing our 'ideal phenomenology of spirit';
2. 'Self-splits' are usually formed, using primarily Freudian terms here in one or more of the three following stages of early childhood development: 1. The Pre-Birth Womb; 2. The Pre-Oedipal Stage (birth to 2 yrs old); and/or 3. The Oedipal Stage (3 to 7 yrs. old). Self-splits are partly inherent in the normal 'multi-bipolar' biological and cognitive-emotional-behavioral functioning of the organism, but self-splits are also exasperated by mainly early childhood traumacy -- what can be called 'core, nuclear, traumacy-transference rejection or failure scenes with resulting internal conflict' that can, and usually do, have a lifelong evolutionary and/or regressive and/or pathological effect on our developing personality...
3. At least fifteen of our essential bipolarities come down through our evolution from seemingly the beginning of human time, and can be found in almost all cultures of human mythology....
Let me list what I consider to be fifteen main ones...
Fifteenth Essential-Existential Bipolarities in Both Man's Nature and His Existence
Most of you have probably seen these four cornerstones of human existence laid out in some form of ancient mythology: 1. water-peace-tranquility-harmony; 2. earth-vitamins-minerals-food-shelter-groundedness-rootedness-security; 3. fire-blood-energy-passion-forcefulness; 4. air-wind-sky-ambition-creativity-transcendence....
Of which we can deduce at least two rather self-apparent bipolarities: 1. fire vs. water; and 2. air and sky vs. earth and ground. These are two of the mythological and humanistic-existential bipolarities and dichotomies that we all have to deal with in some fashion during the course of living....A balance between both bipolarities -- or our four mythological cornerstones of existence -- is essential for a healthy human 'multi-dialectic, phenomenology of spirit'....
From the early mythological Greeks -- as laid out by Nietzsche in 'The Birth of Tragedy' (1872) -- we come to a third essential bipolarity in the nature of man -- Apollo vs. Dionysus (or as later laid out by Freud, 'the ego and the superego' vs. 'the id'). Again, evolving harmony and integration of these two polar characteristics in the nature of man -- Apollo and Dionysus -- leads, generally speaking, to a more idealistically evolving 'multi-dialectic, phenomenology of spirit' -- whereas 'dissociation' between the two tends to lead to the opposite -- in Nietzsche's words, a 'birth of tragedy'....
A fourth bipolarity in the nature of man can be identified as 'separation and individuation' vs. 'union and togetherness'.
A fifth bipolarity in the nature of man can be identified as 'narcissism' vs. 'altruism'.
A sixth bipolarity in the nature of man can be identified as 'righteous judgment' vs. 'nurturing acceptance'.
A seventh bipolarity in the nature of man can be identified as 'construction' vs. 'deconstruction'.
An eighth bipolarity in the nature of man can be identified as Apollo vs. Aphrodite-Eros-Cupid or 'Enlightenment Reason, Fairness, Justice, Equality, Goal-Setting, Planning, Law-and-Rule Making' vs. 'Romantic Impulsiveness, Spontaneity, Unpredictability, and Ethics-Law-and-Rule-Breaking'
In Platonic triadic fashion, man has 'three energy centres': 1. the mind (Apollo); 2. the heart (Aphrodite-Eros-Cupid); and 3. the loins (Dionysus, Bacchus). Thus, the distinction between the 'Apollo-Dionysus bipolarity' and the 'Apollo-Eros bipolarity'.
This also adds a ninth human bipolarity, that being the bipolarity between Dionysus (loins) and Eros/Cupid (heart).
A tenth bipolarity can be identified as (Narcissus) narcissism vs. (Apollo) ethics-morality-fairness-justice...
An eleventh bipolarity -- and here we may be partly overlapping with an earlier bipolarity (separation vs. union) can be identified as self-independence vs. environmental and/or social dependence...
A twelfth bipolarity or dichotomy as identified by Erich Fromm can be articulated as 'freedom' vs. 'unfreedom' -- the idea being that 'freedom' in terms of 'freedom to be and to become' can cause 'dizzying anxiety' relative to 'fear of failing or looking foolish' -- and a wish to turn around and seek anonymity and/or existential safety in the midst of the 'hiding crowd'...
A thirteenth bipolarity I will list as the bipolarity between love and hate and/or love and war, as well as between good and evil....
A fourteenth bipolarity I will identify as the bipolarity between moving towards people, and/or moving towards caring, sharing, compassion, intimacy and love -- and moving away from people, away from caring, sharing, compassion, intimacy and love...
A final fifteenth bipolarity I will list as the Freudian bipolarity between 'life' and 'death' forces....
Assumptively speaking, interacting with these fifteen essential-existential bipolarities in man are:
1. The genetic aspect of our 'essential-existential life-template' as partly laid out in our 'Genetic Self and Potential Self' which includes our most unique talents and skills...
2. Our traumatic or non-traumatic early childhood transference scenes, usually depicted in our earliest childhood memories which become a part of our 'evolving transference-lifestyle script' for better and/or for worse, for love and/or for hate, for health and/or for pathology, for good and/or for evil, for dissociative conflict and/or for united harmony...
The result of all these essential and existential co-factors -- coming together and/or splitting us apart -- determines the evolving nature or 'emotional thermostat' of our 'multi-dialectic, phenomenology of spirit'...
Which, generally speaking, works better and feels better in a positive, harmonious, balanced, united direction than being torn apart in opposite directions, or worse perhaps, being united in hate, destruction, and death....
In an optimal group and/or organizational setting....
Where there is a spirit of mutual trust, respect, caring, and encouragement...
Every member of the group lays out deeper and deeper layers of his or her own unique phenomenology of spirit -- good, bad, and/or indifferent -- and through dialectic exchanges with other members of the group, as well as the 'overall, building, evolving, healing elements of the group phenomenology of spirit', create an environment that both optimally and ideally leads to a healthier and more exhilarating phenomenology of spirit in the individual, as well as adding to a healthier and more exhilarating group...
This, to me, is when both the individual and the group can approach what Hegel called...
'The Absolute', 'God', and/or 'Godliness'....
Not in terms of 'cerebral consciousness'...
But rather in terms of the multi-dialectic-romantic-humanistic-existential....
'Spirit of Man'....
-- dgb, Dec. 14th, 2012
-- David Gordon Bain,
-- Dialectic Gap-Bridging Negotiations, Creations, Integrations...
-- Are Still in Process....
