The Phenomenology of Spirit is a philosophical work by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, first published in 1807. The result of this paper is a systematic attempt to chart the development of human consciousness as it moves from naivety and unconsciousness through various stages of self-awareness until it finally reaches a state of full self-consciousness and spiritual enlightenment. Hegel’s description of self-consciousness in the Phenomenology of Spirit leads to the conclusion that people must seek acknowledgment from others. Kant would critique this pursuit of the ethical life, stating that it leads to the mistreatment of others (Verghese, 2022). When the possibility of mutual recognition is introduced, and the case of mutual recognition is submitted, the beginnings of spirit and the potential for collective identity are witnessed. Fanon contends that even when slavery was abolished, the formerly enslaved people did not attain dialectical transcendence (Fanon, 2014). The purpose of understanding is developed further in Hegel’s mature works, especially the components of the philosophy of a place where it becomes an essential element in the development of ethical life.
In Hegel’s perspective, self-consciousness is prompted to seek acknowledgment from others for two reasons. For starters, self-consciousness is only feasible in the presence of another self-conscious being. To be self-conscious, one must be aware of oneself as distinct from others, which is only viable if one is also aware of others as persons separate from oneself (Verghese, 2022). Second, by analyzing the nature of recognition, the chapter guides self-consciousness toward a complete awareness of its nature and its relationship to others (Verghese, 2022). The philosopher describes self-consciousness as a factor that is for itself. Self–knowledge, including one’s sense of independence and appreciation of self, is never a consequence of easy reflection (Verghese, 2022). Instead, understanding ourselves as individual self-consciousness involves the understanding of another. One must recognize oneself as mediated through this difference.
The Phenomenology of Spirit, Hegel’s most essential and widely studied work, is a detailed exposition of the journey of the human spirit through history. Hegel argues that human nature must go through a process of dialectical development to reach its full potential. This development occurs through a series of struggles between opposing forces, which he calls “lordship and bondage” (Fanon, 2014). The first stage of this process is the struggle between the master and the enslaved person. In this struggle, the master is the one who wants to control and dominate the enslaved person, while the enslaved person is the one who wants to be free from the control of the master. The enslaved person eventually overcomes the master and achieves freedom. However, this freedom is only partial, as the enslaved person is still subject to the will of the master.
In Hegel’s account, self-consciousness is led to look for another for recognition because it is only through recognition by another that self-consciousness can become aware of itself. Hegel accounts for directs self-consciousness toward the concept of the “I that is We,” which is only achievable through recognition by others. (Verghese, 2022). Hegel introduces the idea of a struggle for recognition, describing an encounter between two self-consciousness, which both seek to affirm the certainty of their being for themselves (Verghese, 2022). Such a conflict is described as a life and death struggle as each consciousness desires to confirm its self-existence and independence through negation or objectification of the other. That is, it seeks to incorporate the other within its field of consciousness as an object of negation, as something which this consciousness is not, thus affirming its unfettered existence.
Kant would critique this quest for the ethical life for failing to recognize each individual’s fundamental dignity. Each individual has a distinct value that cannot be reduced to purely instrumental. According to Kant’s categorical imperative, we must always see people as ends in themselves, never as means to our objectives (Verghese, 2022). This quest for an ethical existence falls short because it does not consider each individual’s fundamental dignity. This quest for an honorable existence fails to recognize the distinct value of each individual. Immanuel Kant is best understood for his categorical responsibility, which is most frequently said in two manners. This first asserts that the individual should function as if the choices one makes for oneself would turn into universal law. The second states that a person should do so that they treat each person as the end and never as simple as a way. Kant named the absolute imperatives, which meant that their needs were general and not subject to situational factors.
Kant is known for his belief that there is one ethical duty, which he named categorical imperatives. These requirements of moral philosophy are derived from this side of responsibility. (Verghese, 2022). Categorical imperatives represent intrinsically logical rules; they are better at and of themselves; they must be obeyed at all places and conditions if our behavior equals observing the moral law. The categorical imperative offers the test against which ethical statements will be measured (Verghese, 2022). Kant also said that these ethical norms and ends could be used for the categorical imperative, that rational beings seek specific fortunes using the proper ways.
Judith Butler has many reasons that make her think of spiritual start-ups on the verge of mutual identity. When an individual is acknowledged, they may believe that they are members of a group and feel a sense of belonging. An individual understands who they are and how they fit into the world through acknowledgment. According to Butler, the emergence of the recognition of mutuality in this chapter marks the beginning of spirit and the capacity for collective identity (Verghese, 2022). She maintains that when individuals perceive and acknowledge one another as subjects with equal value and worth, the way is opened to a shared sense of purpose and community. This recognition is required to form any collective identity since it permits individuals to come together and feel as part of something larger.
Butler says this discovery is not always easy or evident because it requires people to let go of their egos and opinions to see and understand one another completely. She maintains that we can only hope to build collective identity through mutual acknowledgment. Hegel recognizes mutually in the Lordship and Bondage chapter of the Phenomenology of Spirit, which he claims is required to develop spirit (Verghese, 2022). Butler claims that the introduction of the possibility of reciprocal recognition marks the origins of spirit and the capacity for collective identity. According to Butler, this is the beginning of spirit since we recognize the possibilities of communal identity for the first time (Verghese, 2022). It is the acknowledgment of the other as a topic of equal worth and value. This acknowledgment is the foundation of communal identity, as we can only build a sense of self through recognizing the other. This is because mutual recognition is only feasible if we consider ourselves as members of a community or group rather than as individuals.
Mutual acknowledgment is essential to spirit since it is the only way to achieve unity and purpose. The introduction of the possibility of reciprocal recognition marks the origins of spirit and the capacity for collective identity. Hegel’s idea of life was expensive in terms of the cosmos but also stunning in terms of time (Verghese, 2022). One of Hegel’s daring hypotheses was that God as a general meaning cannot be seen except in the deity’s immediate existence of a specific kind at a given time but must be comprehended over a lengthy period of growth as the process.
Frantz Fanon uses the analog of enslavement to express the mistreatment that people underwent through. Frantz Fanon believes that the formerly enslaved people did not experience dialectical transcendence because they were still subject to mental slavery (Fanon, 2014). He says that the formerly enslaved people continued to live in a world where they were not regarded as human beings but as inferior people (Fanon, 2014). They could not fully engage in the colony’s social and political life because they were perceived as inferior to the white colonizers (Fanon, 2014). Frantz Fanon mentions that awareness of the body for people of African descent is only the negating process (Fanon, 2014). It is the third-person awareness that Fanon is talking about. Frantz Fanon’s statement suggests that people of African descent are only aware of their bodies in a negative way. This is because they are constantly being aware of how their bodies are different from the majority population.
Frantz Fanon has represented the leading force for those understanding competition and prejudice within existentialism and phenomenology. Fanon writes in dark skin and white masks, “I got into the world anxious to reveal the significance of things, my spirit desirous of taking in the origin of the world, and here I am the entity among different objects” (Fanon, 2014). Moreover, inferiority is defined by the difference, by the white gaze. Such a point is interpreted through the structure representation: that person of color encounters difficulties elaborating his body schema in the white world. The picture of one’s structure is only negating. Rather than being at home in his own body and going out of tradition, Fanon interprets his structure as mainly an entity for others, requiring him to go by tacit knowledge of the principles and norms of the white reality. Fanon analyzes the significance of violence in decolonization in the chapter “Concerning Violence” (Fanon, 2014). He claims that violence is required to topple the colonial system and attain national liberation.
The introduction to a dark surface gives a glimpse of how colonized people were dehumanized by the white masks, entailing critical foundational pieces of criticism. This sums up Fanon’s straightforward statement; that people of color are locked in the dark, and white people are locked in whiteness. Fanon draws the relationship between ontology and sociological structures, insisting that the latter produces the former, which, in exchange, locks subjectivities into their racial categories (Harfouch, 2019). The following chapters are, in some ways, a lengthy, continuous debate for these statements, venturing into questions of the word, gender, embodiment, and dialectics. First, Fanon’s opening gambit presents the central idea of the region of non-being. The region of the non-being is that, as Fanon puts it, of darkness, honestly faced with its status in the anti-black world (Harfouch, 2019). In an exciting and essential twist, Fanon, in this beginning, does not distinguish descent into the region as anarchy or hopelessness. Instead, he counters with the experience of the judgment as it vibrates harmonies vibrates.
Finally, Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit leads to the conclusion that people must seek recognition from others to attain self-consciousness. According to Kant, this pursuit of an ethical life leads to the abuse of others. Butler claims that the introduction of the possibility of reciprocal recognition marks the origins of spirit and the capacity for collective identity. According to Fanon, even after slavery was abolished, formerly enslaved people did not achieve dialectical transcendence.
The conclusion that people must seek recognition from others to attain self-consciousness is based on the fact that self-consciousness can only be achieved in the presence of another self-conscious entity. To be self-conscious, one must be aware of oneself as distinct from others, which is only feasible if one is likewise aware of others as distinct individuals from oneself. Furthermore, Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit directs self-consciousness toward a fuller awareness of its nature and relationship to others by investigating the nature of recognition.
Although Kant would criticize this pursuit of the ethical life, Butler claims that when the possibility of mutual recognition is established, it is seen in the beginnings of spirit and the possibilities of communication. This creates a mutual acknowledgment of the spiritual role that helps to achieve unity and purpose. The recognition of spirits marks a collective identity and origination of the spirits. The life of Hegel was expensive, stunning, and recognizable to the Supreme Being, which fosters and ensures growth and development. Hegel understands the role of self-consciousness that enables an individual to identify his/her distinct character and an individual relationship with others.
References
Fanon, F. (2014). Color and agency: Hegel’s master/slave dialectic in the lens of Frantz Fanon’s black skin, white masks. Web.
Harfouch, A. S. (2019). Hegel, Fanon, and the problem of recognition. In Frantz Fanon and Emancipatory Social Theory. Brill. 139-151. Web.
Verghese, A. (2022). Irony’s subversive bite: destabilizing colonial legacies in contemporary art. Doctoral dissertation, Research Space Auckland. Web.