Thesis (M.A.)--Boston University / The purpose of the thesis is to consider the concepts of the Fall and Hero in Hegel's thought. Hegel's concept of the Fall is important because the Fall represents the condition of man's rise to self-consciousness. Hegel's concept of the Hero is important because the Hero represents man as self-conscious in history. Consequently, a consideration of the relationship between the Fall and the Hero should throw light on the meaning and function of self-consciousness as the central theme of human history for Hegel. An analysis of the Fall and the Hero may therefore illuminate the dialectical basis and systematic structure of Hegel's thought. In so doing, the analysis may lead to a clearer understanding of Hegel's view of the meaning and function of philosophy.
Chapter I discusses Hegel's interpretation of the Fall. He describes the Fall as the "eternal Mythus of Man-in fact the very transition by which he becomes man."1 The condition of man which is dramatized in the Fall is dialectical--the process of a self becoming self-conscious. Initially, Adam is seen as an object for God. Through the movements of the Fall, he becomes an object for himself. In pure consciousness, or immediacy, man's otherness is in being an object-in-itself. In the development of self-consciousness man is an object-for-an-other--i.e. for man. This is the discovery Adam made for himself in the Fall. [TRUNCATED]
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bu.edu/oai:open.bu.edu:2144/33542 |
| Date | January 1965 |
| Creators | Ringelheim, Joan |
| Publisher | Boston University |
| Source Sets | Boston University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
| Rights | This work is being made available in OpenBU by permission of its author, and is available for research purposes only. All rights are reserved to the author. |
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