Reading Questions for Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, "Introduction" from The Philosophy of Fine Art, "Absolute Freedom and Terror," and "Spirit"

1. How does Hegel conceive of home in his "Introduction"? What is exile? Where is exile? Can you connect Hegel's remarks to Rousseau's nostalgic evocation of the state of nature?

2. How can fine art be at once a depositary and a key?

3. What are the two worlds accessible to thought? What does Hegel mean by "progression"? What "fracture" does fine art heal?

4. What does Hegel mean by the "defective combination" of art's first determinant?

5. How does Hegel distinguish between Christian and non-Christian frameworks of belief to clarify the various ways of representing the ideal? Why is the Christian god available to "positive" representation?

6. What is the human body? Of what is it evidence?

7. How does Hegel establish a hierarchy when considering thought in relation to art? What about the within the domain of art itself? What distinguishes artistic excellence from lesser accomplishments for Hegel?

8. What does Hegel mean by "evolution"?

9. What is the difference between the "correct" and the "ideal"?

10. How is "determinacy" a necessary property of the ideal?

11. What are the three types of art? What are their individual characteristics and limitations? What are their associated forms?

12. What are the aesthetic limitations of architecture?

13. What is the difference between music and poetry?

14. How does poetry do away with the sensuous configuration for Hegel? Is his reasoning persuasive? What does Hegel mean when he writes that, "poetry . . . is conformable to all types of the beautiful" (545)?

15. In "Absolute Freedom and Absolute Terror," why does Hegel think that utility is incapable of corrupting spirit?

16. How is the general will the author of its own oppression?

17. What form of state or government does Hegel endorse?

18. Hegel explains that, "spirit is the immovable irreducible basis and the starting point for the action of all and every one" ("Spirit" 458). How does reason gain access to this fundamental basis? How does spirit show itself?

19. When reason is used to connect the self (ego) to existence, spirit is implied, according to Hegel. Why? How does the capacity to know the world as it really is imply the existence of spirit for Hegel?

20. How does spirit overcome isolated thoughts or doubts?