Thetruthisthewhole。Thewhole，however，ismerelytheessentialnaturereachingitscompletenessthroughtheprocessofitsowndevelopment。OftheAbsoluteitmustbesaidthatitisessentiallyaresult，thatonlyattheendisitwhatitisinverytruth；andjustinthatconsistsitsnature，whichistobeactual，subject，orself-becoming，self-development。ShoulditappearcontradictorytosaythattheAbsolutehastobeconceivedessentiallyasaresult，alittleconsiderationwillsetthisappearanceofcontradictioninitstruelight。Thebeginning，theprinciple，ortheAbsolute，asatfirstorimmediatelyexpressed，ismerelytheuniversal。Ifwesay“allanimals“，thatdoesnotpassforzoology；forthesamereasonweseeatoncethatthewordsabsolute，divine，eternal，andsoondonotexpresswhatisimpliedinthem；andonlymerewordslikethese，inpointoffact，expressintuitionastheimmediate。Whateverismorethanawordlikethat，eventhemeretransitiontoaproposition，isaformofmediation，containsaprocesstowardsanotherstatefromwhichwemustreturnoncemore。Itisthisprocessofmediation，however，thatisrejectedwithhorror，asifabsoluteknowledgewerebeingsurrenderedwhenmoreismadeofmediationthanmerelytheassertionthatitisnothingabsolute，anddoesnotexistintheAbsolute。
Thishorrifiedrejectionofmediation，however，arisesasafactfromwantofacquaintancewithitsnature，andwiththenatureofabsoluteknowledgeitself。Formediatingisnothingbutself-identityworkingitselfoutthroughanactiveself-directedprocess；or，inotherwords，itisreflectionintoself，theaspectinwhichtheegoisforitself，objectivetoitself。Itispurenegativity，or，reducedtoitsutmostabstraction，theprocessofbareandsimplebecoming。Theego，orbecomingingeneral，thisprocessofmediating，is，becauseofitsbeingsimple，justimmediacycomingtobe，andisimmediacyitself。Wemisconceivethereforethenatureofreasonifweexcludereflectionormediationfromultimatetruth。，anddonottakeittobeapositivemomentoftheAbsolute。Itisreflectionwhichconstitutestruththefinalresult，andyetatthesametimedoesawaywiththecontrastbetweenresultandtheprocessofarrivingatit。Forthisprocessislikewisesimple，andthereforenotdistinctfromtheformoftruth，whichconsistsinappearingassimpleintheresult；itisindeedjustthisrestorationandreturntosimplicity。Whiletheembryoiscertainly，initself，implicitlyahumanbeing，itisnotsoexplicitly，itisnotbyitselfahumanbeing(fürsich)；manisexplicitlymanonlyintheformofdevelopedandcultivatedreason，whichhasmadeitselftobewhatitisimplicitly。Itsactualrealityisfirstfoundhere。Butthisresultarrivedatisitselfsimpleimmediacy；foritisselfconsciousfreedom，whichisatonewithitself，andhasnotsetasidetheoppositionitinvolvesandleftitthere，buthasmadeitsaccountwithitandbecomereconciledtoit。
Whathasbeensaidmayalsobeexpressedbysayingthatreasonispurposiveactivity。Theexaltationofso-callednatureattheexpenseofthoughtmisconceived，andmoreespeciallytherejectionofexternalpurposiveness，havebroughttheideaofpurposeingeneralintodisrepute。Allthesame，inthesenseinwhichAristotle，too，characterizesnatureaspurposiveactivity，purposeistheimmediate，theundisturbed，theunmovedwhichisself-moving；assuchitissubject。Itspowerofmoving，takenabstractly，isitsexistenceforitself，orpurenegativity。Theresultisthesameasthebeginningsolelybecausethebeginningispurpose。Statedotherwise，whatisactualandconcreteisthesameasitsinnerprincipleornotionsimplybecausetheimmediatequapurposecontainswithinittheselforpureactuality。Therealizedpurpose，orconcreteactuality，ismovementanddevelopmentunfolded。Butthisveryunrestistheself；anditisoneandthesamewiththatimmediacyandsimplicitycharacteristicofthebeginningjustforthereasonthatitistheresult，andhasreturneduponitself-whilethislatteragainisjusttheself，andtheselfisself-referringandself-relatingidentityandsimplicity。
TheneedtothinkoftheAbsoluteassubject，hasledmentomakeuseofstatementslike“Godistheeternal“，the“moralorderoftheworld“，or“love“，etc。InsuchpropositionsthetruthisjustbarelystatedtobeSubject，butnotsetforthastheprocessofreflectivelymediatingitselfwithitself。InapropositionofthatkindwebeginwiththewordGod。Byitselfthisisameaninglesssound，amerename；thepredicatesaysafterwardswhatitis，givesitcontentandmeaning:theemptybeginningbecomesrealknowledgeonlywhenwethusgettotheendofthestatement。Sofarasthatgoes，whynotspeakaloneoftheeternal，ofthemoralorderoftheworld，etc。，or，liketheancients，ofpureconceptionssuchasbeing，theone，etc。，i。e。ofwhatgivesthemeaningwithoutaddingthemeaninglesssoundatall?Butthiswordjustindicatesthatitisnotabeingoressenceoruniversalingeneralthatisputforward，butsomethingreflectedintoself，asubject。YetatthesametimethisacceptanceoftheAbsoluteasSubjectismerelyanticipated，notreallyaffirmed。Thesubjectistakentobeafixedpoint，andtoitastheirsupportthepredicatesareattached，byaprocessfallingwithintheindividualknowingaboutit，butnotlookeduponasbelongingtothepointofattachmentitself；onlybysuchaprocess，however，couldthecontentbepresentedassubject。Constitutedasitis，thisprocesscannotbelongtothesubject；butwhenthatpointofsupportisfixedtostartwith，thisprocesscannotbeotherwiseconstituted，itcanonlybeexternal。TheanticipationthattheAbsoluteissubjectisthereforenotmerelynottherealizationofthisconception；itevenmakesrealizationimpossible。Foritmakesoutthenotiontobeastaticpoint，whileitsactualrealityisself-movement，self-activity。
Amongthemanyconsequencesthatfollowfromwhathasbeensaid，itisofimportancetoemphasizethis，thatknowledgeisonlyrealandcanonlybesetforthfullyintheformofscience，intheformofsystem；andfurther，thataso-calledfundamentalpropositionorfirstprincipleofphilosophy，evenifitistrue，isyetnonethelessfalsejustbecauseandinsofarasitismerelyafundamentalproposition，merelyafirstprinciple。Itisforthatreasoneasilyrefuted。Therefutationconsistsinbringoutitsdefectivecharacter，anditisdefectivebecauseitismerelytheuniversal，merelyaprinciple，thebeginning。Iftherefutationiscompleteandthorough，itisderivedanddevelopedfromthenatureoftheprincipleitself，andnotaccomplishedbybringinginfromelsewhereothercounterassurancesandchancefancies。Itwouldbestrictlythedevelopmentoftheprinciple。andthusthecompletionofitsdeficiency，wereitnotthatitmisunderstandsitsownpurportbytakingaccountsolelyofthenegativeaspectofwhatitseekstodo，andisnotconsciousofthepositivecharacterofitsprocessandresult。Thereallypositiveworkingoutofthebeginningisatthesametimejustasmuchtheveryreverse，itisanegativeattitudetowardstheprinciplewestartfrom，negative，thatistosay，ofitsone-sidedform，whichconsistsinbeingprimarilyimmediate，amerepurpose。Itmaythereforeberegardedasarefutationofwhatconstitutesthebasisofthesystem；butmorecorrectlyitshouldbelookedatasademonstrationthatthebasisorprincipleofthesystemisinpointoffactmerelyitsbeginning。
Thatthetruthisonlyrealizedintheformofsystem，thatsubstanceisessentiallysubject，isexpressedintheideawhichrepresentstheAbsoluteasSpirit(Geist)—thegrandestconceptionofall，andonewhichisduetomoderntimesanditsreligion。SpiritisaloneReality。Itistheinnerbeingoftheworld，thatwhichessentiallyis，andisperse；itassumesobjective，determinateform，andentersintorelationswithitself-itisexternality(otherness)，andexistsforself；yet，inthisdetermination，andinitsotherness，itisstillonewithitself-itisself-containedandself-complete，initselfandforitselfatonce。Thisself-containedness，however，isfirstsomethingknownbyus，itisimplicitinitsnature(ansich)；itisSubstancespiritual。Ithastobecomeself-containedforitself，onitsownaccount；itmustbeknowledgeofspirit，andmustbeconsciousnessofitselfasspirit。
Thismeans，itmustbepresentedtoitselfasanobject，butatthesametimestraightwayannulandtranscendthisobjectiveform；itmustbeitsownobjectinwhichitfindsitselfreflected。Sofarasitsspiritualcontentisproducedbyitsownactivity，itisonlywe[thethinkers]whoknowspirittobeforitself，tobeobjectivetoitself；butinsofarasspiritknowsitselftobeforitself，thenthisself-production，thepurenotion，isthesphereandelementinwhichitsobjectificationtakeseffect，andwhereitgetsitsexistentialform。Inthiswayitisinitsexistenceawareofitselfasanobjectinwhichitsownselfisreflected。Mind，which，whenthusdeveloped，knowsitselftobemind，isscience。Scienceisitsrealization，andthekingdomitsetsupforitselfinitsownnativeelement。
7。TheelementofknowledgeAselfhavingknowledgepurelyofitselfintheabsoluteantithesisofitself，thispureetherassuch，istheverysoilwherescienceflourishes，isknowledgeinuniversalform。Thebeginningofphilosophypresupposesordemandsfromconsciousnessthatitshouldfeelathomeinthiselement。Butthiselementonlyattainsitsperfectmeaningandacquirestransparencythroughtheprocessofgraduallydevelopingit。Itispurespiritualityastheuniversalwhichassumestheshapeofsimpleimmediacy；
andthissimpleelement，existingassuch，isthefieldofscience，isthinking，whichcanbeonlyinmind。Becausethismedium，thisimmediacyofmind，isthemind\'ssubstantialnatureingeneral，itisthetransfiguredessence，reflectionwhichitselfissimple，whichisawareofitselfasimmediacy；itisbeing，whichisreflectionintoitself。Scienceonitssiderequirestheindividualself-consciousnesstohaverisenintothishighether，inordertobeabletolivewithscience，andinscience，andreallytofeelalivethere。Converselytheindividualhastherighttodemandthatscienceshallholdtheladdertohelphimtogetatleastasfarasthisposition，shallshowhimthathehasinhimselfthisgroundtostandon。Hisrightrestsonhisabsoluteindependence，whichheknowshepossessesineverytypeandphaseofknowledge；forineveryphase，whetherrecognizedbyscienceornot，andwhateverbethecontent，hisrightasanindividualistheabsoluteandfinalform，i。e。heistheimmediatecertaintyofself，andtherebyisunconditionedbeing，werethisexpressionpreferred。Ifthepositiontakenupbyconsciousness，thatofknowingaboutobjectivethingsasopposedtoitself，andaboutitselfasopposedtothem，isheldbysciencetobetheveryoppositeofwhatscienceis:if，wheninknowingitkeepswithinitselfandnevergoesbeyonditself，scienceholdsthisstatetoberatherthelossofmindaltogether-ontheotherhandtheelementinwhichscienceconsistsislookedatbyconsciousnessasaremoteanddistantregion，inwhichconsciousnessisnolongerinpossessionofitself。Eachofthesetwosidestakestheothertobetheperversionofthetruth。Forthena?veconsciousness，togiveitselfupcompletelyandstraightawaytoscienceistomakeanattempt，inducedbysomeunknowninfluence，allatoncetowalkonitshead。Thecompulsiontotakeupthisattitudeandmoveaboutinthisposition，isaconstrainingforceitisurgedtofallinwith，withouteverbeingpreparedforitandwithnoapparentnecessityfordoingso。Letsciencebepersewhatitlikes，initsrelationtona?veimmediateself-consciouslifeitpresentstheappearanceofbeingareversalofthelatter；or，again，becausena?veself-consciousnessfindstheprincipleofitsrealityinthecertaintyofitself，sciencebearsthecharacterofunreality，sinceconsciousness“foritself“isastatequiteoutsideofscience。Sciencehasforthatreasontocombinethatotherelementofself-certaintywithitsown，orrathertoshowthattheotherelementbelongstoitself，andhowitdoesso。Whendevoidofthatsortofreality，scienceismerelythecontentofmindquasomethingimplicitorpotential(ansich)；purpose，whichatthestartisnomorethansomethinginternal；notspirit，butatfirstmerelyspiritualsubstance。Thisimplicitmoment(Ansich)hastofindexternalexpression，andbecomeobjectiveonitsownaccount。Thismeansnothingelsethanthatthismomenthastoestablishself-consciousnessasonewithitself。
8。TheascentintothisisthePhenomenologyofSpiritItisthisprocessbywhichscienceingeneralcomesabout，thisgradualdevelopmentofknowing，thatissetforthhereinthePhenomenologyofMind。Knowing，asitisfoundatthestart，mindinitsimmediateandprimitivestage，iswithouttheessentialnatureofmind，issense-consciousness。
Toreachthestageofgenuineknowledge，orproducetheelementwherescienceisfound-thepureconceptionofscienceitself-alongandlaboriousjourneymustbeundertaken。Thisprocesstowardsscience，asregardsthecontentitwillbringtolightandtheformsitwillassumeinthecourseofitsprogress，willnotbewhatisprimarilyimaginedbyleadingtheunscientificconsciousnessuptothelevelofscience:itwillbesomethingdifferent，too，fromestablishingandlayingthefoundationsofscience；andanywaysomethingelsethanthesortofecstaticenthusiasmwhichstartsstraightoffwithabsoluteknowledge，asifshotoutofapistol，andmakesshortworkofotherpointsofviewsimplybyexplainingthatitistotakenonoticeofthem。
Thetaskofconductingtheindividualmindfromitsunscientificstandpointtothatofsciencehadtobetakeninitsgeneralsense；wehadtocontemplatetheformativedevelopment(Bildung)oftheuniversal[orgeneral]individual，ofself-consciousspirit。Astotherelationbetweenthesetwo[theparticularandgeneralindividual]，everymoment，asitgainsconcreteformanditsownpropershapeandappearance，findsaplaceinthelifeoftheuniversalindividual。Theparticularindividualisincompletemind，aconcreteshapeinwhoseexistence，takenasawhole，onedeterminatecharacteristicpredominates，whiletheothersarefoundonlyinblurredoutline。Inthatmindwhichstandshigherthananotherthelowerconcreteformofexistencehassunkintoanobscuremoment；
whatwasformerlyanobjectivefact(dieSacheselbst)isnowonlyasingletrace:itsdefiniteshapehasbeenveiled，andbecomesimplyapieceofshading。Theindividual，whosesubstanceismindatthehigherlevel，passesthroughthesepastforms，muchinthewaythatonewhotakesupahighersciencegoesthroughthosepreparatoryformsofknowledge，whichhehaslongmadehisown，inordertocalluptheircontentbeforehim；hebringsbacktherecollectionofthemwithoutstoppingtofixhisinterestuponthem。Theparticularindividual，sofarascontentisconcerned，hasalsotogothroughthestagesthroughwhichthegeneralmindhaspassed，butasshapesonceassumedbymindandnowlaidaside，asstagesofaroadwhichhasbeenworkedoverandlevelledout。Henceitisthat，inthecaseofvariouskindsofknowledge，wefindthatwhatinformerdaysoccupiedtheenergiesofmenofmaturementalabilitysinkstothelevelofinformation，exercises，andevenpastimes，forchildren；andinthiseducationalprogresswecanseethehistoryoftheworld\'sculturedelineatedinfaintoutline。Thisbygonemodeofexistencehasalreadybecomeanacquiredpossessionofthegeneralmind，whichconstitutesthesubstanceoftheindividual，and，bythusappearingexternallytohim，furnisheshisinorganicnature。Inthisrespectcultureordevelopmentofmind(Bildung)，regardedfromthesideoftheindividual，consistsinhisacquiringwhatliesathishandreadyforhim，inmakingitsinorganicnatureorganictohimself，andtakingpossessionofitforhimself。Lookedat，however，fromthesideofuniversalmindquageneralspiritualsubstance，culturemeansnothingelsethanthatthissubstancegivesitselfitsownself-consciousness，bringsaboutitsowninherentprocessanditsownreflectionintoself。
Sciencelaysbeforeusthemorphogeneticprocessofthisculturaldevelopmentinallitsdetailedfullnessandnecessity，andatthesametimeshowsittobesomethingthathasalreadysunkintothemindasamomentofitsbeingandbecomeapossessionofmind。Thegoaltobereachedisthemind\'sinsightintowhatknowingis。Impatienceasksfortheimpossible，wantstoreachthegoalwithoutthemeansofgettingthere。Thelengthofthejourneyhastobebornewith，foreverymomentisnecessary；andagainwemusthaltateverystage，foreachisitselfacompleteindividualform，andisfullyandfinallyconsideredonlysofarasitsdeterminatecharacteristakenanddealtwithasaroundedandconcretewhole，oronlysofarasthewholeislookedatinthelightofthespecialandpeculiarcharacterwhichthisdeterminationgivesit。Becausethesubstanceofindividualmind，nay，more，becausetheuniversalmindatworkintheworld(Weltgeist)，hashadthepatiencetogothroughtheseformsinthelongstretchoftime\'sextent，andtotakeuponitselftheprodigiouslabouroftheworld\'shistory，whereitbodiedforthineachformtheentirecontentofitself，aseachiscapableofpresentingit；andbecausebynothinglesscouldthatall-pervadingmindevermanagetobecomeconsciousofwhatitselfis-forthatreason，theindividualmind，inthenatureofthecase，cannotexpectbylesstoiltograspwhatitsownsubstancecontains。Allthesame，itstaskhasmeanwhilebeenmademuchlighter，becausethishashistoricallybeenimplicitly(ansich)accomplished，thecontentisonewhererealityisalreadycancelledforspiritualpossibilities，whereimmediacyhasbeenovercomeandbroughtunderthecontrolofreflection，thevariousformsandshapeshavebeenalreadyreducedtotheirintellectualabbreviations，todeterminationsofthought(Gedankenbestimmung)pureandsimple。Beingnowathought，thecontentisthepropertyofthesubstanceofmind；existencehasnomoretobechangedintotheformofwhatisinherentandimplicit(Ansichseins)，butonlytheimplicit-nolongermerelysomethingprimitive，norlyinghiddenwithinexistence，butalreadypresentasarecollection-intotheformofwhatisexplicit，ofwhatisobjectivetoself(Fürsichseins)。
9。Thetransformationofthenotionandthefamiliarintothought—
Wehavetostatemoreexactlythewaythisisdone。Atthepointatwhichweheretakeupthismovement，wearespared，inconnexionwiththewhole，theprocessofcancellingandtranscendingthestageofmereexistence。Thisprocesshasalreadytakenplace。Whatisstilltobedoneandneedsahigherkindoftransformation，istotranscendtheformsasideallypresentedandmadefamiliartoourminds。Bythatpreviousnegativeprocess，existence，havingbeenwithdrawnintothemind\'ssubstance，is，inthefirstinstance，transferredtothelifeofselfonlyinanimmediateway。
Thepropertytheselfhastherebyacquired，hasstillthesamecharacterofuncomprehendedimmediacy，ofpassiveindifference，whichexistenceitselfhad；existencehasinthiswaymerelypassedintotheformofanidealpresentation。Atthesametime，bysodoing，itissomethingfamiliartous，something“well-known“，somethingwhichtheexistentmindhasfinishedanddonewith，andhencetakesnomoretodowithandnofurtherinterestin。Whiletheactivitythatisdonewiththeexistentisitselfmerelytheprocessoftheparticularmind，ofmindwhichisnotcomprehendingitself，ontheotherhand，knowledgeisdirectedagainstthisidealpresentationwhichhasherebyarisen，againstthis“being-familiar“and“well-known“；itisanactionofuniversalmind，theconcernofthought。
Whatis“familiarlyknown“isnotproperlyknown，justforthereasonthatitis“familiar“。Whenengagedintheprocessofknowing，itisthecommonestformofself-deception，andadeceptionofotherpeopleaswell，toassumesomethingtobefamiliar，andgiveassenttoitonthatveryaccount。Knowledgeofthatsort，withallitstalk，nevergetsfromthespot，buthasnoideathatthisisthecase。Subjectandobject，andsoon，God，nature，understanding，sensibility，etc。，areuncriticallypresupposedasfamiliarandsomethingvalid，andbecomefixedpointsfromwhichtostartandtowhichtoreturn。Theprocessofknowingflitsbetweenthesesecurepoints，andinconsequencegoesonmerelyalongthesurface。Apprehendingandprovingconsistsimilarlyinseeingwhethereveryonefindswhatissaidcorrespondingtohisideatoo，whetheritisfamiliarandseemstohimsoandsoornot。
Analysisofanidea，asitusedtobecarriedout，didinfactconsistinnothingelsethandoingawaywithitscharacteroffamiliarity。Tobreakupanideaintoitsultimateelementsmeansreturninguponitsmoments，whichatleastdonothavetheformofthegivenideawhenfound，butaretheimmediatepropertyoftheself。Doubtlessthisanalysisonlyarrivesatthoughtswhicharethemselvesfamiliarelements，fixedinertdeterminations。Butwhatisthusseparated，andinasenseisunreal，isitselfanessentialmoment；forjustbecausetheconcretefactisself-divided，andturnsintounreality，itissomethingself-moving，self-active。TheactionofseparatingtheelementsistheexerciseoftheforceofUnderstanding，themostastonishingandgreatestofallpowers，orrathertheabsolutepower。Thecircle，whichisself-enclosedandatrest，and，quasubstance，holdsitsownmoments，isanimmediaterelation，theimmediate，continuousrelationofelementswiththeirunity，andhencearousesnosenseofwonderment。Butthatanaccidentassuch，whenoutloosefromitscontainingcircumference，—thatwhatisboundandheldbysomethingelseandactualonlybybeingconnectedwithit，—shouldobtainanexistenceallitsown，gainfreedomandindependenceonitsownaccount-thisistheportentouspowerofthenegative；itistheenergyofthought，ofpureego。Death，aswemaycallthatunreality，isthemostterriblething，andtokeepandholdfastwhatisdeaddemandsthegreatestforceofall。Beauty，powerlessandhelpless，hatesunderstanding，becausethelatterexactsfromitwhatitcannotperform。Butthelifeofmindisnotonethatshunsdeath，andkeepsclearofdestruction；itenduresdeathandindeathmaintainsitsbeing。Itonlywinstoitstruthwhenitfindsitselfutterlytornasunder。Itisthismightypower，notbybeingapositivewhichturnsawayfromthenegative，aswhenwesayofanythingitisnothingoritisfalse，and，beingthendonewithit，passofftosomethingelse:onthecontrary，mindisthispoweronlybylookingthenegativeintheface，anddwellingwithit。Thisdwellingbesideitisthemagicpowerthatconvertsthenegativeintobeing。Thatpowerisjustwhatwespokeofaboveassubject，whichbygivingdeterminatenessaplaceinitssubstance，cancelsabstractimmediacy，i。e。
immediacywhichmerelyis，and，bysodoing，becomesthetruesubstance，becomesbeingorimmediacythatdoesnothavemediationoutsideit，butisthismediationitself。
10。—andthisintotheConcept/NotionThisprocessofmakingwhatisobjectivelypresentedapossessionofpureself-consciousness，ofraisingittothelevelofuniversalityingeneral，ismerelyoneaspectofmentaldevelopment；spiritualevolutionisnotyetcompleted。Themannerofstudyinancienttimesisdistinctfromthatofthemodemworld，inthattheformerconsistedinthecultivationandperfectingofthenaturalmind。
Testinglifecarefullyatallpoints，philosophizingabouteverythingitcameacross，theformercreatedanexperiencepermeatedthroughandthroughbyuniversals。Inmodemtimes，however，anindividualfindstheabstractformreadymade。Instrainingtograspitandmakeithisown，heratherstrivestobringforwardtheinnermeaningalone，withoutanyprocessofmediation；theproductionoftheuniversalisabridged，insteadoftheuniversalarisingoutofthemanifolddetailofconcreteexistence。Hencenowadaysthetaskbeforeusconsistsnotsomuchingettingtheindividualclearofthestageofsensuousimmediacy，andmakinghimasubstancethatthinksandisgraspedintermsofthought，butrathertheveryopposite:itconsistsinactualizingtheuniversal，andgivingitspiritualvitality，bytheprocessofbreakingdownandsupersedingfixedanddeterminatethoughts。Butitismuchmoredifficulttomakefixedanddefinitethoughtsfusewithoneanotherandformacontinuouswholethantobringsensuousexistenceintothisstate。Thereasonliesinwhatwassaidbefore。Thoughtdeterminationsgettheirsubstanceandtheelementoftheirexistencefromtheego，thepowerofthenegative，orpurereality；whiledeterminationsofsensefindthisinimpotentabstractimmediacy，inmerebeingassuch。Thoughtsbecomefluentandinterfuse，whenthinkingpureandsimple，thisinnerimmediacy，knowsitselfasamoment，whenpurecertaintyofselfabstractsfromitself。Itdoesnot“abstract“inthesenseofgettingawayfromitselfandsettingitselfononeside，butofsurrenderingthefixedqualityofitsself-affirmation，andgivingupboththefixityofthepurelyconcrete-whichistheegoascontrastedwiththevarietyofitscontent-andthefixityofallthosedistinctions[thevariousthought-functions，principles，etc。]whicharepresentintheelementofpurethoughtandsharethatabsolutenessoftheego。Invirtueofthisprocesspurethoughtsbecomenotions，concepts，andarethenwhattheyareintruth，self-movingfunctions，circles，arewhattheirsubstanceconsistsin，arespiritualentities。
Thismovementofthespiritualentitiesconstitutesthenatureofscientificprocedureingeneral。
Lookedatastheconcatenationoftheircontent，thismovementisthenecessitateddevelopmentandexpansionofthatcontentintoanorganicsystematicwhole。Bythismovement，too，theroad，whichleadstothenotionofknowledge，becomesitselflikewiseanecessaryandcompleteevolvingprocess(Werden)。Thispreparatorystagethusceasestoconsistofcasualphilosophicalreflections，referringtoobjectshereandthere，toprocessesandthoughtsoftheundevelopedmindaschancemaydirect；anditdoesnottrytoestablishthetruthbymiscellaneousratiocinations，inferences，andconsequencesdrawnfromcircumscribedthoughts。Theroadtoscience，bytheverymovementofthenotionitself，willcompasstheentireobjectiveworldofconsciouslifeinitsrationalnecessity。
Further，asystematicexpositionlikethisconstitutesthefirstpartofscience，becausethepositiveexistenceofmind，quaprimaryandultimate，isnothingbuttheimmediateaspectofmind，thebeginning；thebeginning，butnotyetitsreturntoitself。Thecharacteristicfeaturedistinguishingthispartofscience[Phenomenology]fromtheothersistheelementofpositiveimmediateexistence。
Thementionofthisdistinctionleadsustodiscusscertainestablishedideasthatusuallycometonoticeinthisconnexion。
Themind\'simmediateexistence，consciouslife，hastwoaspects—cognitionandobjectivitywhichisopposedtoornegativeofthesubjectivefunctionofknowing。Sinceitisinthemediumofconsciousnessthatmindisdevelopedandbringsoutitsvariousmoments，thisoppositionbetweenthefactorsofconsciouslifeisfoundateachstageintheevolutionofmind，andallthevariousmomentsappearasmodesorforms(Gestalten)ofconsciousness。Thescientificstatementofthecourseofthisdevelopmentisascienceoftheexperiencethroughwhichconsciousnesspasses；thesubstanceanditsprocessareconsideredastheobjectofconsciousness。Consciousnessknowsandcomprehendsnothingbutwhatfallswithinitsexperience；forwhatisfoundinexperienceismerelyspiritualsubstance，and，moreover，objectofitsself。Mind，however，becomesobject，foritconsistsintheprocessofbecominganothertoitself，i。e。anobjectforitsownself，andintranscendingthisotherness。Andexperienceiscalledthisveryprocessbywhichtheelementthatisimmediate，unexperienced，i。e。abstract-whetheritbeintheformofsenseorofabarethought—
externalizesitself，andthencomesbacktoitselffromthisstateofestrangement，andbysodoingisatlengthsetforthinitsconcretenatureandrealtruth，andbecomestooapossessionofconsciousness。
Thedissimilaritywhichobtainsinconsciousnessbetweentheegoandthesubstanceconstitutingitsobject，istheirinnerdistinction，thefactorofnegativityingeneral。Wemayregarditasthedefectofbothopposites，butitistheirverysoul，theirmovingspirit。Itwasonthisaccountthatcertainthinkerslongagotookthevoidtobetheprincipleofmovement，whentheyconceivedthemovingprincipletobethenegativeelement，thoughtheyhadnotasyetthoughtofitasself。Whilethisnegativefactorappearsinthefirstinstanceasadissimilarity，asaninequality，betweenegoandobject，itisjustasmuchtheinequalityofthesubstancewithitself。Whatseemstotakeplaceoutsideit，tobeanactivitydirectedagainstit，isitsowndoing，itsownactivity；andsubstanceshowsthatitisinrealitysubject。Whenithasbroughtoutthiscompletely，mindhasmadeitsexistenceadequatetoandonewithitsessentialnature。Mindisobjecttoitselfjustasitis，andtheabstractelementofimmediacy，oftheseparationbetweenknowingandthetruth，isovercome。
Beingisentirelymediated；itisasubstantialcontent，thatislikewisedirectlyinthepossessionoftheego，hasthecharacterofself，isnotion。WiththeattainmentofthisthePhenomenologyofMindconcludes。Whatmindpreparesforitselfinthecourseofitsphenomenologyistheelementoftrueknowledge。Inthiselementthemomentsofmindarenowsetoutintheformofthoughtpureandsimple，whichknowsitsobjecttobeitself。Theynolongerinvolvetheoppositionbetweenbeingandknowing；theyremainwithintheundividedsimplicityoftheknowingfunction；theyarethetruthintheformoftruth，andtheirdiversityismerelydiversityofthecontentoftruth。TheprocessbywhichtheyaredevelopedintoanorganicallyconnectedwholeisLogicorSpeculativePhilosophy。
11。InwhatwaythePhenomenologyoftheSpiritisnegativeorcontainswhatisfalseNow，becausethesystematicstatementofthemind\'sexperienceembracesmerelyitswaysofappearing，itmaywellseemthattheadvancefromthattothescienceofultimatetruthintheformoftruthismerelynegative；andwemightreadilybecontenttodispensewiththenegativeprocessassomethingaltogetherfalse，andmightasktobetakenstraighttothetruthatonce:whymeddlewithwhatisfalseatall?Thepointformerlyraised，thatweshouldhavebegunwithscienceatonce，maybeansweredherebyconsideringthecharacterofnegativityingeneralregardedassomethingfalse。Theusualideasonthissubjectparticularlyobstructtheapproachtothetruth。Theconsiderationofthispointwillgiveusanopportunitytospeakaboutmathematicalknowledge，whichnon-philosophicalknowledgelooksuponastheidealwhichphilosophyoughttotrytoattain，buthassofarstriveninvaintoreach。
Truthandfalsehoodascommonlyunderstoodbelongtothosesharplydefinedideaswhichclaimacompletelyfixednatureoftheirown，onestandinginsolidisolationonthisside，theotheronthat，withoutanycommunitybetweenthem。Againstthatviewitmustbepointedout，thattruthisnotlikestampedcointhatisissuedreadyfromthemintandsocanbetakenupandused。Nor，again，istheresomethingfalse，anymorethanthereissomethingevil。Evilandfalsehoodareindeednotsobadasthedevil，forintheformofthedeviltheygetthelengthofbeingparticularsubjects；quafalseandeviltheyaremerelyuniversals，thoughtheyhaveanatureoftheirownwithreferencetooneanother。Falsity(thatiswhatwearedealingwithhere)wouldbeotherness，thenegativeaspectofthesubstance，which[substance]，quacontentofknowledge，istruth。Butthesubstanceisitselfessentiallythenegativeelement，partlyasinvolvingdistinctionanddeterminationofcontent，partlyasbeingaprocessofdistinguishingpureandsimple，i。e。asbeingselfandknowledgeingeneral。Doubtlesswecanknowinawaythatisfalse。Toknowsomethingfalselymeansthatknowledgeisnotadequateto，isnotonequaltermswith，itssubstance。Yetthisverydissimilarityistheprocessofdistinctioningeneral，theessentialmomentinknowing。Itis，infact，outofthisactivedistinctionthatitsharmoniousunityarises，andthisidentity，whenarrivedat，istruth。Butitisnottruthinasensewhichwouldinvolvetherejectionofthediscordance，thediversity，likedrossfrompuremetal；nor，again，doestruthremaindetachedfromdiversity，likeafinishedarticlefromtheinstrumentthatshapesit。Differenceitselfcontinuestobeanimmediateelementwithintruthassuch，intheformoftheprincipleofnegation，intheformoftheactivityofSelf。Allthesame，wecannotforthatreasonsaythatfalsehoodisamomentorformsevenaconstituentpartoftruth。
That“ineverycaseoffalsitythereissomethingtrue“isanexpressioninwhichtheyaretakentobelikeoilandwater，whichdonotmixandaremerelyunitedexternally。Justintheinterestoftheirrealmeaning，preciselybecausewewanttodesignatetheaspectormomentofcompleteotherness，thetermstrueandfalsemustnolongerbeusedwheretheirothernesshasbeencancelledandsuperseded。Justastheexpressions“unityofsubjectandobject“，of“finiteandinfinite“，of“beingandthought“，etc。，areclumsywhensubjectandobject，etc。，aretakentomeanwhattheyareoutsidetheirunity，andarethusinthatunitynotmeanttobewhatitsveryexpressionconveys；inthesamewayfalsehoodisnot，quafalse，anylongeramomentoftruth。
Dogmatismasawayofthinking，whetherinordinaryknowledgeorinthestudyofphilosophy，isnothingelsebuttheviewthattruthconsistsinaproposition，whichisafixedandfinalresult，oragainwhichisdirectlyknown。Toquestionslike，“WhenwasCaesarborn?“。“Howmanyfeetmakeafurlongs“，etc。，astraightansweroughttobegiven；justasitisabsolutelytruethatthesquareofthehypotenuseisequaltothesumofthesquaresoftheothertwosidesofaright-angledtriangle。Butthenatureofaso-calledtruthofthatsortisdifferentfromthenatureofphilosophicaltruth。
12。HistoricalandmathematicaltruthAsregardstruthinmattersofhistoricalfact-todealbrieflywiththissubject—sofarasweconsiderthepurelyhistoricalelement，itwillbereadilygrantedthattheyhavetodowiththesphereofparticularexistence，withacontentinitscontingentandarbitraryaspects，featuresthathavenonecessity。Butevenbaretruthsofthekind，say，likethosementioned，areimpossiblewithouttheactivityofself-consciousness。Inordertoknowanyoneofthem，therehastobeagooddealofcomparison，booksmustbeconsulted，orinsomewayorotherinquiryhastobemade。Eveninacaseofdirectperception，onlywhenweknowitalongwiththereasonsbehindit，isitheldtobesomethingofrealvalue；althoughitismerelythenakedfactitselfthatweare，properlyspeaking，supposedtobeconcernedabout。
Astomathematicaltruths，weshouldbestilllessinclinedtoconsideranyoneageometerwhohadgotEuclid\'stheoremsbyheart(auswendig)withoutknowingtheproofs，without，ifwemaysaysobywayofcontrast，gettingthemintohishead(inwendig)。Similarly，ifanyonecametoknowbymeasuringmanyright-angledtrianglesthattheirsidesarerelatedinthewayeverybodyknows，weshouldregardknowledgesoobtainedasunsatisfactory。Allthesame，whileproofisessentialinthecaseofmathematicalknowledge，itstilldoesnothavethesignificanceandnatureofbeingamomentintheresultitself；theproofisoverwhenwegettheresult，andhasdisappeared。Quaresultthetheoremis，nodoubt，onethatisseentobetrue。Butthiseventualityhasnothingtodowithitscontent，butonlywithitsrelationtotheknowingsubject。Theprocessofmathematicalproofdoesnotbelongtotheobject；itisafunctionthattakesplaceoutsidethematterinhand。
Thus，thenatureofaright-angledtriangledoesnotbreakitselfupintofactorsinthemannersetforthinthemathematicalconstructionwhichisrequiredtoprovethepropositionexpressingtherelationofitsparts。Theentireprocessofproducingtheresultisanaffairofknowledgewhichtakesitsownwayofgoingaboutit。Inphilosophicalknowledge，too，thewayexistence，quaexistence，comesabout(Werden)isdifferentfromthatwherebytheessenceorinnernatureofthefactcomesintobeing。Butphilosophicalknowledge，foronething，containsboth，whilemathematicalknowledgesetsforthmerelythewayanexistencecomesabout，i。e。thewaythenatureofthefactgetstobeinthesphereofknowledgeassuch。Foranotherthing，too，philosophicalknowledgeunitesboththeseparticularmovements。Theinwardrisingintobeing，theprocessofsubstance，isanunbrokentransitionintooutwardness，intoexistenceorbeingforanother；andconversely，thecomingofexistenceintobeingiswithdrawalintotheinneressence。
Themovementisthetwofoldprocessinwhichthewholecomestobe，andissuchthateachatthesametimepositstheother，andeachonthataccounthasinitbothasitstwoaspects。Togethertheymakethewhole，throughtheirresolvingeachother，andmakingthemselvesintomomentsofthewhole。
Inmathematicalknowledgetheinsightrequiredisanexternalfunctionsofarasthesubject-matterdealtwithisconcerned。Itfollowsthattheactualfactistherebyaltered。Themeanstaken，constructionandproof，contain，nodoubt，truepropositions；butallthesameweareboundtosaythatthecontentisfalse。Thetriangleintheaboveexampleistakentopieces，anditspartsmadeintootherfigurestowhichtheconstructioninthetrianglegivesrise。Itisonlyattheendthatwefindagainreinstatedthetrianglewearereallyconcernedwith；itwaslostsightofinthecourseoftheconstruction，andwaspresentmerelyinfragments，thatbelongedtootherwholes。Thuswefindnegativityofcontentcominginheretoo，anegativitywhichwouldhavetobecalledfalsity，justasmuchasinthecaseofthemovementofthenotionwherethoughtsthataretakentobefixedpassawayanddisappear。
Therealdefectofthiskindofknowledge，however，affectsitsprocessofknowingasmuchasitsmaterial。Astothatprocess，inthefirstplacewedonotseeanynecessityintheconstruction。Thenecessitydoesnotarisefromthenatureofthetheorem:itisimposed；andtheinjunctiontodrawjusttheselines，aninfinitenumberofothersbeingequallypossible，isblindlyacquiescedin，withoutourknowinganythingfurther，exceptthat，aswefondlybelieve，thiswillserveourpurposeinproducingtheproof。Lateronthisdesignthencomesouttoo，andisthereforemerelyexternalincharacter，justbecauseitisonlyaftertheproofisfoundthatitcomestobeknown。Inthesameway，again，theprooftakesadirectionthatbeginsanywherewelike，withoutourknowingasyetwhatrelationthisbeginninghastotheresulttobebroughtout。Initscourse，ittakesupcertainspecificelementsandrelationsandletsothersalone，withoutitsbeingdirectlyobviouswhatnecessitythereisinthematter。Anexternalpurposecontrolsthisprocess。
Theevidencepeculiartothisdefectivewayofknowing—anevidenceonthestrengthofwhichmathematicsplumesitselfandproudlystrutsbeforephilosophy—restssolelyonthepovertyofitspurposeandthedefectivenessofitsmaterial，andisonthataccountofakindthatphilosophymustscorntohaveanythingtodowith。Itspurposeorprincipleisquantity。Thisispreciselytherelationshipthatisnon-essential，alientothecharacterofthenotion。Theprocessofknowledgegoeson，therefore，onthesurface，doesnotaffecttheconcretefactitself，doesnottouchitsinnernatureorlotion，andishencenotaconceptualwayofcomprehending。Thematerialwhichprovidesmathematicswiththesewelcometreasuresoftruthconsistsofspaceandnumericalunits(dasEins)。Spaceisthatkindofexistencewhereintheconcretenotioninscribesthediversityitcontains，asinanempty，lifelesselementinwhichitsdifferenceslikewisesubsistinpassive，lifelessform。Whatisconcretelyactualisnotsomethingspatial，suchasistreatedofinmathematics。Withunrealitieslikethethingsmathematicstakesaccountof，neitherconcretesensuousperceptionnorphilosophyhasanythingtodo。Inanunrealelementofthatsortwefind，then，onlyunrealtruth，fixedlifelesspropositions。Wecancallahaltatanyofthem；thenextbeginsofitselfdenovo，withoutthefirsthavingleduptotheonethatfollows，andwithoutanynecessaryconnexionhavinginthiswayarisenfromthenatureofthesubject-matteritself。So，too—andhereinconsiststheformalcharacterofmathematicalevidencebecauseofthatprincipleandtheelementwhereitapplies，knowledgeadvancesalongthelinesofbareequality，ofabstractidentity。Forwhatislifeless，notbeingself-moved，doesnotbringaboutdistinctionwithinitsessentialnature；doesnotattaintoessentialoppositionorunlikeness；andhenceinvolvesnotransitionofoneoppositeelementintoitsother，noqualitative，immanentmovement，noself-movement，Itisquantity，aformofdifferencethatdoesnottouchtheessentialnature，whichalonemathematicsdealswith。Itabstractsfromthefactthatitisthenotionwhichseparatesspaceintoitsdimensions，anddeterminestheconnexionsbetweenthemandinthem。Itdoesnotconsider，forexample，therelationoflinetosurface，andwhenitcomparesthediameterofacirclewithitscircumference，itrunsupagainsttheirincommensurability，i。e。arelationintermsofthenotion，aninfiniteelement，thatescapesmathematicaldetermination。
Immanentorso-calledpuremathematics，again，doesnotopposetimequatimetospace，asasecondsubject-matterforconsideration。Appliedmathematics，nodoubt，treatsoftime，asalsoofmotion，andotherconcretethingsaswell；butitpicksupfromexperiencesyntheticpropositions—i。e。statementsoftheirrelations，whicharedeterminedbytheirconceptualnature—andmerelyappliesitsformulaetothosepropositionsassumedtostartwith。Thattheso-calledproofsofpropositionslikethatconcerningtheequilibriumofthelever，therelationofspaceandtimeingravitation，etc。，whichappliedmathematicsfrequentlygives，shouldbetakenandgivenasproofs，isitselfmerelyaproofofhowgreattheneedisforknowledgetohaveaprocessofproof，seeingthat，evenwhereproofisnottobehad，knowledgeyetputsavalueonthemeresemblanceofit，andgetstherebyacertainsenseofsatisfaction。Acriticismofthoseproofswouldbeasinstructiveasitwouldbesignificant，ifthecriticismcouldstripmathematicsofthisartificialfinery，andbringoutitslimitations，andthenceshowthenecessityforanothertypeofknowledge。
Astotime，which，itistobepresumed，would，bywayofthecounterparttospace，constitutetheobject-matteroftheotherdivisionofpuremathematics，thisisthenotionitselfintheformofexistence。Theprincipleofquantity，ofdifferencewhichisnotdeterminedbythenotion，andtheprincipleofequality，ofabstract，lifelessunity，areincapableofdealingwiththatsheerrestlessnessoflifeanditsabsoluteandinherentprocessofdifferentiation。Itisthereforeonlyinanarrested，paralysedform，onlyintheformofthequantitativeunit，thatthisessentiallynegativeactivitybecomesthesecondobject-matterofthiswayofknowing，which，itselfanexternaloperation，degradeswhatisself-movingtothelevelofmerematter，inorderthustogetanindifferent，external，lifelesscontent。
13。ThenatureofphilosophicaltruthanditsmethodPhilosophy，onthecontrary，doesnotdealwithadeterminationthatisnon-essential，butwithadeterminationsofarasitisanessentialfactor。Theabstractorunrealisnotitselementandcontent，butthereal，whatisself-establishing，haslifewithinitself，existenceinitsverynotion。Itistheprocessthatcreatesitsownmomentsinitscourse，andgoesthroughthemall；andthewholeofthismovementconstitutesitspositivecontentanditstruth。Thismovementincludes，therefore，withinitthenegativefactoraswell，theelementwhichwouldbenamedfalsityifitcouldbeconsideredonefromwhichwehadtoabstract。Theelementthatdisappearshasrathertobelookedatasitselfessential，notinthesenseofbeingsomethingfixed，thathastobecutofffromtruthandallowedtolieoutsideit，heavenknowswhere；justassimilarlythetruthisnottobeheldtostandontheothersideasanimmovablelifelesspositiveelement。Appearanceistheprocessofarisingintobeingandpassingawayagain，aprocessthatitselfdoesnotariseanddoesnotpassaway，butisperse，andconstitutesrealityandthelife-movementoftruth。Thetruthisthusthebacchanalianrevel，wherenotamemberissober；andbecauseeverymembernosoonerbecomesdetachedthaniteoipsocollapsesstraightway，therevelisjustasmuchastateoftransparentunbrokencalm。Judgedbythatmovement，theparticularshapeswhichmindassumesdonotindeedsubsistanymorethandodeterminatethoughtsorideas；buttheyare，allthesame，asmuchpositiveandnecessarymoments，asnegativeandtransitory。Intheentiretyofthemovement，takenasanunbrokenquiescentwhole，thatwhichobtainsdistinctnessinthecourseofitsprocessandsecuresspecificexistence，ispreservedintheformofaself-recollection，inwhichexistenceisself-knowledge，andself-knowledge，again，isimmediateexistence。
Itmightwellseemnecessarytostateattheoutsetthechiefpointsinconnexionwiththemethodofthisprocess，thewayinwhichscienceoperates。Itsnature，however，istobefoundinwhathasalreadybeensaid，whilethepropersystematicexpositionofitisthespecialbusinessofLogic，orratherisLogicitself。Forthemethodisnothingelsethanthestructureofthewholeinitspureandessentialform。Inregard，however，towhathasbeenhithertocurrentlyheldonthispoint，wemustbesensiblethatthesystemofideasbearingonthequestionofphilosophicalmethod，belongsalsotoastageofmentalculturethathasnowpassedaway。Thismayperhapsseemsomewhatboastfulorrevolutionary；andIamfarfromadoptinganattitudeofthatsort；butitissignificantthatthescientificrégimebequeathedbymathematics—arégimeofexplanations，divisions，axioms，anarrayoftheorems，withproofs，principles，andtheconsequencesandconclusionsdrawnfromthem—allthishasalreadycometobegenerallyconsideredasatanyrateoutofdate。Eventhoughthereisnoclearideawhyitisunsuitable，yetlittleornouseismadeofitanylonger；andeventhoughitisnotcondemnedoutright，itisallthesamenotinfavour。Andwemustbesofarprejudicedinfavourofwhatisexcellenttobelievethatitcanturnitselftopracticalaccount，andmakeitselfacceptable。Butitisnotdifficulttoseethatthemethodofpropoundingaproposition，producingreasonsforitandthenrefutingitsoppositebyreasonstoo，isnottheforminwhichtruthcanappear。Truthmovesitselfbyitsverynature；butthemethodjustmentionedisaformofknowledgeexternaltoitsmaterial。Henceitispeculiartomathematicsandmustbelefttomathematics，which，asalreadyindicated，takesforitsprincipletherelationofquantity，arelationalientothenotion，andgetsitsmaterialfromlifelessspace，andtheequallylifelessnumericalunit。
Or，again，suchamethod，adoptingafreerstyle，oneinvolvingmoreofarbitrarinessandchance，mayhaveaplaceinordinarylife，inaconversation，orinsupplyingmatter-of-factinstructionforthesatisfactionofcuriosityratherthanknowledge，verymuchasaprefacedoes。Inevery-daylifethemindfindsitscontentindifferentkindsofknowledge，experiencesofvarioussorts，concretefactsofsense，thoughts，too，andprinciples，and，ingeneral，inwhateverliesreadytohand，orpassesforasolidstableentity，orrealbeing。Themindfollowswhereverthisleads，sometimesinterruptingtheconnexionbyanunrestrainedcapriceindealingwiththecontent，andtakesuptheattitudeofdeterminingandhandlingitinquiteanexternalfashion。Itrunsthecontentbacktosometouchstoneofcertaintyorother，eventhoughitbebutthefeelingofthemoment；andconvictionissatisfiedifitreachessomefamiliarresting-place。
Butwhenthenecessityofthenotionbanishesfromitsrealmthelooseprocedureofthe“raisonnements“ofconversation，aswellasthepedanticstyleofscientificpomposity，itsplace，aswehavealreadymentioned，mustnotbetakenbythedisconnectedutteranceofpresagefulsurmiseandinspiration，andthearbitrarycapriceofpropheticutterance；forthisdoesnotmerelydespisethatparticularformofscientificprocedure，butcontemnsscientificprocedurealtogether。
14。AgainstschematizingformalismNowthatthetriplicity，adoptedinthesystemofKant—amethodrediscovered，tobeginwith，byinstinctiveinsight，butleftlifelessanduncomprehended—hasbeenraisedtoitssignificanceasanabsolutemethod，trueformistherebysetupinitstruecontent，andtheconceptionofsciencehascometolight。Buttheusethisformhasbeenputtoincertainquartershasnorighttothenameofscience。Forweseeittherereducedtoalifelessschema，tonothingbetterthanamereshadow，andscientificorganizationtoasynoptictable。Thisformalism—aboutwhichwespokebeforeingeneralterms，andwhoseprocedurewewishheretostatemorefully—thinksithascomprehendedandexpressedthenatureandlifeofagivenformwhenitproclaimsadeterminationoftheschematobeitspredicate。Thepredicatemaybesubjectivityorobjectivity，oragainmagnetism，electricity，andsoon，contractionorexpansion，EastorWest，andsuchlike—aformofpredicationthatcanbemultipliedindefinitely，becauseaccordingtothiswayofworkingeachdetermination，eachmode，canbeappliedasaformorschematicelementinthecaseofeveryother，andeachwillthankfullyperform。thesameserviceforanyother。Withacircleofreciprocitiesofthissortitisimpossibletomakeoutwhattherealfactinquestionis，orwhattheoneortheotheris。Wefindtheresometimesconstituentsofsensepickedupfromordinaryintuition，determinateelementswhichtobesureshouldmeansomethingelsethantheysay；atothertimeswhatisinherentlysignificant，viz。puredeterminationsofthought-likesubject，object，substance，cause，universality，etc-theseareappliedjustasuncriticallyandunreflectinglyasinevery-daylife，areusedmuchaspeopleemploythetermsstrongandweak，expansionandcontraction。Asaresultthattypeofmetaphysicsisasunscientificasthoseideasofsense。
Insteadoftheinneractivityandself-movementofitsownactuallife，suchasimpledeterminationofdirectintuition(Anschauung)—whichmeansheresense-knowledge—ispredicatedinaccordancewithasuperficialanalogy，andthisexternalandemptyapplicationoftheformulaiscalled“construction“。Thesamethinghappenshere，however，asinthecaseofeverykindofformalism。Aman\'sheadmustbeindeeddullifhecouldnotinaquarterofanhourgetupthetheorythatthereareenervating，innervating，andindirectlyenervatingdiseasesandasmanycures，andwhocouldnot—sincenotsolongagoinstructionofthatsortsufficedforthepurpose-inasshortatimebeturnedfrombeingamanwhoworksbyruleofthumbintoatheoreticalphysician。
FormalisminthecaseofspeculativePhilosophyofNature(Naturphilosophie)takestheshapeofteachingthatunderstandingiselectricity，animalsarenitrogen，orequivalenttoSouthorNorthandsoon。Whenitdoesthis，whetherasbadlyasitishereexpressedorevenconcoctedwithmoreterminology，suchforcefulprocedurebringsandholdstogetherelementstoallappearancefarremovedfromoneanother；theviolencedonetostableinertsense-elementsbyconnectingtheminthisway，confersonthemmerelythesemblanceofaconceptualunity，andsparesitselfthetroubleofdoingwhatisafteralltheimportantthing—expressingthenotionitself，themeaningthatunderliessense-ideas。Allthissortofthingmaystrikeanyonewhohasnoexperiencewithadmirationandwonder。Hemaybeawedbytheprofoundgeniushethinksitdisplays，andbedelightedatthehappyingenuityofsuchcharacterizations，sincetheyfilltheplaceoftheabstractnotionwithsomethingtangibleandsensuous，andsomakeitmorepleasing；andhemaycongratulatehimselfonfeelinganinstinctivementalaffinityforthatgloriouswayofproceeding。Thetrickofwisdomofthatsortisasquicklyacquiredasitiseasytopractise。Itsrepetition，whenonceitisfamiliar，becomesasboringastherepetitionofanybitofsleight-of-handonceweseethroughit。Theinstrumentforproducingthismonotonousformalismisnomoredifficulttohandlethanthepaletteofapainter，onwhichlieonlytwocolours，sayredandgreen，theformerforcolouringthesurfacewhenwewantahistoricalpiece，thelatterwhenwewantabitoflandscape。
Itwouldbedifficulttosettlewhichisgreaterinallthis，theagreeableeasewithwhicheverythinginheavenandearthandundertheearthisplasteredwiththatbotchofcolour，ortheconceitthatpridesitselfontheexcellenceofitsmeansforeveryconceivablepurpose；theonelendssupporttotheother。Whatresultsfromtheuseofthismethodofstickingontoeverythinginheavenandearth，toeverykindofshapeandform，naturalandspiritual，thepairofdeterminationsfromthegeneralschema，andfilingeverythinginthismanner，isnolessthanan“accountasclearasnoonday“oftheorganizedwholeoftheuniverse。Itis，thatistosay，asynopticindex，likeaskeletonwithticketsstuckalloverit，orliketherowsofboxeskeptshutandlabelledinagrocer\'sstall；andisasintelligibleaseithertheoneortheother。Ithaslostholdofthelivingnatureofconcretefact；justasintheformercasewehavemerelydryboneswithfleshandbloodallgone，andinthelatter，thereisshutawayinthoseboxessomethingequallylifelesstoo。Wehavealreadyremarkedthatthefinaloutcomeofthisstyleofthinkingis，atthesametime，topaintentirelyinonekindofcolour；foritturnswithcontemptfromthedistinctionsintheschematictable，looksonthemasbelongingtotheactivityofmerereflection，andletsthemdropoutofsightinthevoidoftheAbsolute，andtherereinstatespureidentity，pureformlesswhiteness。Suchuniformityofcolouringintheschemawithitslifelessdeterminations，thisabsoluteidentity，andthetransitionfromonetotheother—thesearetheoneaswellastheother，theexpressionofinertlifelessunderstanding，andequallyanexternalprocessofknowledge。
Notonlycanwhatisexcellentnotescapethefateofbeingthusdevitalizedanddespiritualizedandexcoriatedofseeingitsskinparadedaboutbylifelessknowledgeandtheconceitsuchknowledgeengenders；butrather，suchafateletsusrealizethepowerthe“excellent“exercisesovertheheart(Gemüth)，ifnotoverthemind(Geist)。Moreover，werecognizethereby，too，theconstructiveunfoldingintouniversalityanddeterminatenessofformwhichmarksthecompleteattainmentofexcellence，andwhichalonemakesitpossiblethatthisuniversalitycanbeturnedtosuperficialuses。
Sciencecanbecomeanorganicsystemonlybytheinherentlifeofthenotion。Insciencethedeterminateness，whichwastakenfromtheschemaandstuckontoexistingfactsinexternalfashion，istheselfdirectinginnersouloftheconcretecontent。Themovementofwhatispartlyconsistsinbecominganothertoitself，andthusdevelopingexplicitlyintoitsownimmanentcontent；
partly，again，ittakesthisevolvedcontent，thisexistenceitassumes，backintoitself，i。e。makesitselfintoamoment，andreducesitselftosimpledeterminateness。Inthefirststageoftheprocessnegativityliesinthefunctionofdistinguishingandestablishingexistence；inthislatterreturnintoself，negativityconsistsinthebringingaboutofdeterminatesimplicity。Itisinthiswaythatthecontentshowsitsspecificcharacteristicnottobereceivedfromsomethingelse，andstuckonexternally；
thecontentgivesitselfthisdeterminatecharacteristic，appointsitselfofitsowninitiativetotherankofamomentandtoaplaceinthewhole。Thepigeon-holingprocessofunderstandingretainsforitselfthenecessityandthenotioncontrollingthecontent，thatwhichconstitutestheconcreteelement，theactualityandlivingprocessofthesubject-matterwhichitlabels:orrather，understandingdoesnotretainthisforitself，onthecontrary，understandingfailstoknowit。Forifithadasmuchinsightasthat，itwouldsurelyshowthatithad。Itisnotevenawareoftheneedforsuchinsight；ifitwere，itwoulddropitsschematizingprocess，oratleastwouldnolongerbesatisfiedtoknowbywayofameretableofcontents。Atableofcontentsisallthatunderstandinggives，thecontentitselfitdoesnotfurnishatall。
Ifthespecificdetermination(sayevenonelikemagnetism)isonethatinitselfisconcreteoractual，itallthesamegetsdegradedintosomethinglifelessandinert，sinceitismerelypredicatedofanotherexistingentity，andnotknownasanimmanentlivingprincipleofthisexistence；noristhereanycomprehensionofhowinthisentityitsintrinsicandpeculiarwayofexpressingandproducingitselftakeseffect。This，theverykernelofthematter，formalunderstandingleavestootherstoaddlateron。Insteadofmakingitswayintotheinherentcontentofthematterinhand，understandingalwaystakesasurveyofthewhole，assumesapositionabovetheparticularexistenceaboutwhichitisspeaking，i。e。itdoesnotseeitatall。
Truescientificknowledge，onthecontrary，demandsabandonmenttotheverylifeoftheobject，or，whichmeansthesamething，claimstohavebeforeittheinnernecessitycontrollingtheobject，andtoexpressthisonly。Steepingitselfinitsobject，itforgetstotakethatgeneralsurvey，whichismerelyaturningofknowledgeawayfromthecontentbackintoitself。Butbeingsunkintothematerialinhand，andfollowingthecoursethatsuchmaterialtakes，trueknowledgereturnsbackintoitself，yetnotbeforethecontentinitsfullnessistakenintoitself，isreducedtothesimplicityofbeingadeterminatecharacteristic，dropstothelevelofbeingoneaspectofanexistingentity，andpassesoverintoitshighertruth。Bythisprocessthewholeassuch，surveyingitsentirecontent，itselfemergesoutofthewealthwhereinitsprocessofreflectionseemedtobelost。
Ingeneral，invirtueoftheprinciplethat，asweexpresseditbefore，substanceisimplicitlyandinitselfsubject，allcontentmakesitsreflectionintoitselfinitsownspecialway。Thesubsistenceorsubstanceofanythingthatexistsisitsself-identity；foritswantofidentity，oronenesswithitself，wouldbeitsdissolution。Butself-identityispureabstraction；andthisisjustthinking。WhenIsayQuality，Istatesimpledeterminateness；bymeansofitsqualityoneexistenceisdistinguishedfromanotherorisan“existence“；itisforitself，somethingonitsownaccount，orsubsistswithitselfbecauseofthissimplecharacteristic。ButbydoingsoitisessentiallyThought。
HerewefindcontainedtheprinciplethatBeingisThought:hereisexercisedthatinsightwhichusuallytendstodeviatefromtheordinarynon-conceptualwayofspeakingoftheidentityofthoughtandbeing。Invirtue，further，ofthefactthatsubsistenceonthepartofwhatexistsisself-identityorpureabstraction，itistheabstractionofitselffromitself，inotherwords，isitselfitsownwantofidentitywithitselfanddissolution—itsownproperinwardnessandretractionintoself—itsprocessofbecoming。
Owing，tothenaturewhichbeingthushas，andsofaraswhatishasthisnaturefromthepointofviewofknowledge，thisthinkingisnotanactivitywhichtreatsthecontentassomethingalienandexternal；itisnotreflectionintoselfawayfromthecontent。ScienceisnotthatkindofIdealismwhichsteppedintotheplaceoftheDogmatismofmereassertionandtooktheshapeofaDogmatismofmereassurance，theDogmatismofmereself-certainty。Rather，sinceknowledgeseesthecontentgobackintoitsownproperinnernature，theactivityofknowledgeisabsorbedinthatcontent—forit(theactivity)istheimmanentselfofthecontent—andisalsoatthesametimereturnedintoitself，forthisactivityispureself-identityinotherness。Inthiswaytheknowingactivityistheartfuldevicewhich，whileseemingtorefrainfromactivity，looksonandwatcheshowspecificdeterminatenesswithitsconcretelife，justwhereitbelievesitisworkingoutitsownself-preservationanditsownprivateinterest，is，inpointoffact，doingtheveryopposite，isdoingwhatbringsaboutitsowndissolutionandmakesitselfamomentinthewhole。
While，intheforegoing，thesignificanceofUnderstandingwasstatedfromthepointofviewoftheself-consciousnessofsubstance；bywhathasbeenherestatedwecanseeclearlyitssignificancefromthepointofviewofsubstancequabeing。ExistenceisQuality，self-identicaldeterminateness，ordeterminatesimplicity，determinatethought:thisisexistencefromthepointofviewofUnderstanding。Onthisaccountitis<@bl，asAnaxagorasfirstthoughtrealitytobe。Thosewhosucceededhimgraspedthenatureofexistenceinamoredeterminatewayas，\\*@lor4*X“i。e。
asdeterminateorspecificuniversality，kindorspecies。ThetermspeciesorkindseemsindeedtooordinaryandinadequateforIdeas，forbeauty，holiness，eternal，whicharethevogueinthesedays。
Asamatteroffact，however，idea(4*X“)meansneithermorenorlessthankind，species。Butweoftenfindnowadaysthatatermwhichexactlydesignatesaconceptionisdespisedandrejected，andanotherpreferredtoitwhichhidesandobscurestheconception，andthussoundsmoreedifying，eventhoughthisismerelyduetoitsbeingexpressedinaforeignlanguage。
Preciselyforthereasonthatexistenceisdesignatedaspeciesorkind，itisnakedsimplethought:
<@bl，simplicity，issubstance。Itisonaccountofitssimplicity，itsself-identity，thatitappearssteady，fixed，andpermanent。Butthisself-identityislikewisenegativity；hencethatfixedandstableexistencecarriestheprocessofitsowndissolutionwithinitself。Thedeterminatenessappearsatfirsttobesosolelythroughitsrelationtosomethingelse；anditsprocessseemsimposedandforceduponitexternally。Butitshavingitsownothernesswithinitself，andthefactofitsbeingaself-initiatedprocess—theseareimpliedintheverysimplicityofthoughtitself。Forthisisself-movingthought，thoughtthatdistinguishes，isinherentinwardness，thepurenotion。Thus，then，itistheverynatureofunderstandingtobeaprocess；andbeingaprocessitisRationality。
Inthenatureofexistenceasthusdescribed—tobeitsownnotionandbeinginone—consistslogicalnecessityingeneral。Thisaloneiswhatisrational，therhythmoftheorganicwhole:itisasmuchknowledgeofcontentasthatcontentisnotionandessentialnature。Inotherwords，thisaloneisthesphereandelementofspeculativethought。Theconcreteshapeofthecontentisresolvedbyits\'owninherentprocessintoasimpledeterminatequality。Therebyitisraisedtologicalform，anditsbeingandessencecoincide；itsconcreteexistenceismerelythisprocessthattakesplace，andiseoipsologicalexistence。Itisthereforeneedlesstoapplyaformalschemetotheconcretecontentinanexternalfashion；thecontentisinitsverynatureatransitionintoaformalshape，which，however，ceasestobeformalismofanexternalkind，becausetheformistheindwellingprocessoftheconcretecontentitself。
Thisnatureofscientificmethod，whichconsistspartlyinbeinginseparablefromthecontent，andpartlyindeterminingtherhythmofitsmovementbyitsownagency，finds，aswementionedbefore，itspeculiarsystematicexpressioninspeculativephilosophy。Whatisherestateddescribesineffecttheessentialprinciple；butcannotstandformoreatthisstagethananassertionorassurancebywayofanticipation。Thetruthitcontainsisnottobefoundinthisexposition，whichisinparthistoricalincharacter。Andjustforthatreason，too，itisnotintheleastrefutedifanyoneassuresusonthecontrarythatthisisnotso，thattheprocessinsteadisheresoandso；ifideasweareallusedto，beingtruthsacceptedorsettledandfamiliartoeveryone，arebroughttomindandrecounted；or，again，ifsomethingnewisservedupandGuaranteedascomingfromtheinnersanctuariesofinspiredintuition。
Suchaviewisboundtomeetwithopposition。Thefirstinstinctivereactiononthepartofknowing，whenofferedsomethingthatwasunfamiliar，isusuallytoresistit。Itseeksbythatmeanstosavefreedomandnativeinsight，tosecureitsowninherentauthorityagainstalienauthority—forthatisthewayanythingapprehendedforthefirsttimeappears。Thisattitudeisadopted，too，inordertodoawaywiththesemblanceofakindofdisgracewhichwouldlieinthefactthatsomethinghashadtobelearnt。Inlikemanner，again，whentheunfamiliarorunknownisreceivedwithapplause，thereactionisinthesamewayanexaltationoffreedomandnativeauthority。Itconsistsinsomethinganalogoustoultra-revolutionarydeclamationandaction。
15。ThedemandsofthestudyofphilosophyHencetheimportantthingforthestudentofscienceistomakehimselfundergothestrenuoustoilofconceptualreflection，ofthinkingintheformofthenotion。Thisdemandsconcentratedattentiononthenotionassuch，onsimpleandultimatedeterminationslikebeing-in-itself，being-for-itself，self-identity，andsoon；fortheseareelemental，pure，self-determinedfunctionsofakindwemightcallsouls，wereitnotthattheirconceptualnaturedenotessomethinghigherthanthattermcontains。Theinterruptionbyconceptualthoughtofthehabitofalwaysthinkinginfigurativeideas(Vorstellungen)isasannoyingandtroublesometothiswayofthinkingastothatprocessofformalintelligencewhichinitsreasoningramblesaboutwithnorealthoughtstoreasonwith。Theformer，thehabit，maybecalledmaterializedthinking，afortuitousmentalstate，onethatisabsorbedinwhatismaterial，andhencefindsitverydistastefulatoncetoliftitsselfclearofthismatterandbewithitselfalone。Thelatter，theprocessofraisonnement，is，ontheotherhand，detachmentfromallcontent，andconceitedsuperioritytoit。Whatiswantedhereistheeffortandstruggletogiveupthiskindoffreedom，andinsteadofbeingamerelyarbitraryprincipledirectingthecontentanyhow，thisfreedomshouldsinkintoandpervadethecontent，shouldletitbedirectedandcontrolledbyitsownpropernature，i。e。bytheselfasitsownself。andshouldobservethisprocesstakingplace。Wemustabstainfrominterruptingtheimmanentrhythmofthemovementofconceptualthought；wemustrefrainfromarbitrarilyinterferingwithit，andintroducingideasandreflectionsthathavebeenobtainedelsewhere。Restraintofthissortisitselfanessentialconditionofattendingtoandgettingattherealnatureofthenotion。
16。Argumentativethinkinginitsnegativeattitude—
Therearetwoaspectsinthecaseofthatratiocinativeprocedurewhichmarkitscontrastfromconceptualthinkingandcallforfurthernotice。Raisonnement，inthefirstplace，adoptsanegativeattitudetowardsthecontentapprehended；knowshowtorefuteitandreduceittonothingness。Toseewhatthecontentisnotismerelyanegativeprocess；itisadeadhalt，whichdoesnotofitselfgobeyonditself，andproceedtoanewcontent；ithastogetholdofsomethingelsefromsomewhereorotherinordertohaveoncemoreacontent。Itisreflectionuponandintotheemptyego，thevanityofitsownknowledge。Conceitofthiskindbringsoutnotonlythatthiscontentisvainandempty，butalsothattoseethisisitselffatuitytoo:foritisnegationwithnoperceptionofthepositiveelementwithinit。Inthatthisreflectiondoesnotevenhaveitsownnegativityasitscontent，itisnotinsideactualfactatall，butforeverawayoutsideit。Onthataccountitimaginesthatbyassertingmereemptinessitisgoingmuchfartherthaninsightthatembracesandrevealsawealthofcontent。Ontheotherhand，inthecaseofconceptualthinking，aswasaboveindicated，thenegativeaspectfallswithinthecontentitself，andisthepositivesubstanceofthatcontent，aswellasbeingitsinherentcharacterandmovingprincipleasbybeingtheentiretyofwhattheseare。
Lookedatasaresult，itisdeterminatespecificnegation，thenegativewhichistheoutcomeofthisprocess，andconsequentlyisapositivecontentaswell。
17。—initspositiveattitude；itssubjectInviewofthefactthatratiocinativethinkinghasacontent，whetherofimagesorthoughtsoramixtureofboth，thereisanothersidetoitsprocesswhichmakesconceptualcomprehensiondifficultforit。Thepeculiarnatureofthisaspectiscloselyconnectedwiththeessentialmeaningoftheideaabovedescribed，infact，expressestheideainthewaythisappearsastheprocessofthinkingapprehension。Forjustasratiocinativethinkinginitsnegativereference，whichwehavebeendescribing，isnothingbuttheselfintowhichthecontentreturns；inthesameway，ontheotherhand，initspositivecognitiveprocesstheselfisanideallypresentedsubjecttowhichthecontentisrelatedasanaccidentandpredicate。Thissubjectconstitutesthebasistowhichthecontentisattachedandonwhichtheprocessmovestoandfro。Conceptualthinkinggoesoninquiteadifferentway。Sincetheconceptornotionistheveryselfoftheobject，manifestingitselfasthedevelopmentoftheobject，itisnotaquiescentsubject，passivelysupportingaccidents:itisaself-determiningactiveconceptwhichtakesupitsdeterminationsandmakesthemitsown。Inthecourseofthisprocessthatinertpassivesubjectreallydisappears；itentersintothedifferentconstituentsandpervadesthecontent；insteadofremainingininertantithesistodeterminatenessofcontent，itconstitutes，infact，thatveryspecificity，i。e。thecontentasdifferentiatedalongwiththeprocessofbringingthisabout。Thusthesolidbasis，whichratiocinationfoundinaninertsubject，isshakentoitsfoundations，andtheonlyobjectisthisverymovementofthesubject。Thesubjectsupplyingtheconcretefillingtoitsowncontentceasestobesomethingtranscending。thiscontent，andcannothavefurtherpredicatesoraccidents。Conversely，again，thescattereddiversityofthecontentisbroughtunderthecontroloftheself，andsoboundtogether；thecontentisnotauniversalthatcanbedetachedfromthesubject，andadaptedtoseveralindifferently。Consequentlythecontentisintruthnolongerpredicateofthesubject；itistheverysubstance，istheinmostreality，andtheveryprincipleofwhatisbeingconsidered。Ideationalthinking(vorstellen)，sinceitsnatureconsistsindealingwithaccidentsorpredicates，andinexercisingtherighttotranscendthembecausetheyarenothingmorethanpredicatesandaccidents—thiswayofthinkingischeckedinitscourse，sincethatwhichhasinthepropositiontheformofapredicateisitselfthesubstanceofthestatement。Itismetbyacounter-thrust，aswemaysay。Startingfromthesubject，asifthiswereapermanentbaseonwhichtoproceed，itdiscovers，bythepredicatebeinginrealitythesubstance，thatthesubjecthaspassedintothepredicate，andhastherebyceasedtobesubject:
andsinceinthiswaywhatseemstobepredicatehasbecometheentiremassofthecontent，wholeandcomplete，thinkingcannotwanderandrambleaboutatwill，butisrestrainedandcontrolledbythisweightofcontent。
Usuallythesubjectisfirstsetdownasthefixedandobjectiveself；fromthisfixedpositionthenecessaryprocesspassesontothemultiplicityofdeterminationsorpredicates。Heretheknowingegotakestheplaceofthatsubjectandisthefunctionofknittingorcombiningthepredicatesonewithanother，andisthesubjectholdingthemfast。Butsincetheformersubjectentersintothedeterminateconstituentsthemselves，andistheirverylife，thesubjectinthesecondcase—viz。theknowingsubject-findsthattheformer，whichitissupposedtobedonewithandwhichitwantstotranscend，inordertoreturnintoitself，—isstillthereinthepredicate:andinsteadofbeingabletobethedeterminingagencyintheprocessofresolvingthepredicate-reflectivelydecidingwhetherthisorthatpredicateshouldbeattachedtotheformersubject—ithasreallytodealwiththeselfofthecontent，isnotallowedtobesomethingonitsownaccount(fürsich)，buthastoexistalongwiththiscontent。
Whathasbeensaidcanbeexpressedinaformalmannerbysayingthatthenatureofjudgmentorthepropositioningeneral，whichinvolvesthedistinctionofsubjectandpredicate，issubvertedanddestroyedbythespeculativejudgment；andtheidenticalproposition，whichtheformerbecomes[byunitingsubjectandpredicate]，impliestherejectionandrepudiationoftheaboverelationbetweensubjectandpredicate。Thisconflictbetweentheformofapropositioningeneralandtheunityofthenotionwhichdestroysthatform，issimilartowhatwefindbetweenmetreandaccentinthecaseofrhythm。Rhythmistheresultofwhathoversbetweenandunitesboth。Sointhecaseofthespeculativeorphilosophicaljudgment；theidentityofsubjectandpredicateisnotintendedtodestroytheirdistinction，asexpressedinpropositionalform；theirunityistoariseasaharmonyoftheelements。Theformofthejudgmentisthewaythespecificsenseappears，orismademanifest，theaccentwhichdifferentiatesthemeaningitcontains:thatthepredicateexpressesthesubstance，andthesubjectitselffallswithintheuniversal，ishowevertheunitywhereinthataccentdiesaway。
ToexplainwhathasbeensaidbyexamplesletustakethepropositionGodisBeing。Thepredicateis“being“:ithassubstantivesignificance，andthusabsorbsthemeaningofthesubjectwithinit。Beingismeanttobeherenotpredicatebuttheessentialnature。Thereby，Godseemstoceasetobewhathewaswhenthepropositionwasputforward，viz。afixedsubject。Thinking[i。e。
ordinaryreflection]，insteadofgettinganyfartherwiththetransitionfromsubjecttopredicate，inrealityfindsitsactivitycheckedthroughthelossofthesubject，anditisthrownbackonthethoughtofthesubjectbecauseitmissesthissubject。Oragain，sincethepredicatehasitselfbeenpronouncedtobeasubject，tobethebeing，tobetheessentialreality，whichexhauststhenatureofthesubject，thinkingfindsthesubjectdirectlypresentinthepredicatetoo:andnow，insteadofhaving，inthepredicate，goneintoitself，andpreservedthefreedomcharacteristicofratiocination，itisabsorbedinthecontentallthewhile，or，atanyrateisrequiredtobeso。
Similarlywhenitissaid:“therealistheuniversal“，thereal，quasubject，passesawayinitspredicate。Theuniversalisnotonlymeanttohavethesignificanceofapredicate，asifthepropositionstatedthattherealisuniversal:theuniversalismeanttoexpresstheessentialnatureofthereal。Thinkingthereforelosesthatfixedobjectivebasiswhichithadinthesubject，justasmuchasinthepredicateitisthrownbackonthesubject，andthereinreturnsnotintoitselfbutintothesubjectunderlyingthecontent。
Thisunaccustomedrestraintimposeduponthoughtisforthemostpartthecauseofthecomplaintsconcerningtheunintelligibilityofphilosophicalwritings，whenotherwisetheindividualhasinhimtherequisitementalcultivationforunderstandingthem。Inwhathasbeensaidweseethereasonforthespecificchargeoftenmadeagainstthem，thatagooddealhastobereadrepeatedlybeforeitcanbeunderstood—anaccusationwhichismeanttoconveysomethingimproperintheextreme，andonewhichifgrantedtobesoundadmitsofnofurtherreply。Itisobviousfromtheabovewhatisthestateofthecasehere。Thephilosophicalproposition，beingaproposition，callsuptheacceptedviewoftheusualrelationofsubjectandpredicate，andsuggeststheideaofthecustomaryprocedurewhichtakesplaceinknowledge。Itsphilosophicalcontentdestroysthiswayofproceedingandtheordinaryviewtakenofthisprocess。Thecommonviewdiscoversthatthestatementisintendedinanothersensethanitisthinkingof，andthiscorrectionofitsopinioncompelsknowledgetorecurtothepropositionandtakeitnowinsomeothersense。
Thereisadifficultywhichmightwellbeavoided。Itconsistsinmixingupthemethodsofprocedurefollowedbyspeculationandratiocination，whenwhatissaidofthesubjecthasatonetimethesignificanceofitsconceptualprinciple，andatanothertimethemeaningofitspredicateoraccidentalquality。Theonemodeofthinkinginvalidatestheother；andonlythatphilosophicalexpositioncanmanagetobecomeplasticincharacterwhichresolutelysetsasideandhasnothingtodowiththeordinarywayofrelatingthepartsofaproposition。
Asamatteroffact，non-speculativethinkinghasitsrightstoo，whicharejustifiable，butaredisregardedinthespeculativewayofstatingaproposition。Abolishingtheformofthepropositionmustnottakeplaceonlyinanimmediatemanner，throughthemerecontentoftheproposition。Onthecontrary，wemustgiveexplicitexpressiontothiscancellingprocess；itmustbenotonlythatinternalrestrainingandconfiningofthoughtwithinitsownsubstance；thisturningoftheconceptionbackintoitselfhastobeexpresslybroughtoutandstated。Thisprocess，whichconstituteswhatformerlyhadtobeaccomplishedbyproof，istheinternaldialecticalmovementofthepropositionitself。Thisaloneistheconcretespeculativeelement，andonlytheexplicitexpressionofthisisaspeculativesystematicexposition。Quaproposition，thespeculativeaspectismerelytheinternalrestrictionofthoughtwithinitsownsubstancewherethereturnoftheessentialprincipleintoitselfisnotyetbroughtout。Henceweoftenfindphilosophicalexpositionsreferringustotheinnerintuition，andthusdispensingwiththesystematicstatementofthedialecticalmovementoftheproposition，whichiswhatwewantedallthewhile。Thepropositionoughttoexpresswhatthetruthis:initsessentialnaturethetruthissubject:beingso，itismerelythedialecticalmovement，thisself-producingcourseofactivity，maintaining，itsadvancebyreturningbackintoitself。Inthecaseofknowledgeinotherspheresthisaspectofexpresslystatingtheinternalnatureofthecontentisconstitutedbyproof。Whendialectic，however，hasbeenseparatedfromproof，theideaofphilosophicaldemonstrationasamatteroffacthasvanishedaltogether。
Onthispointitmaybementionedthatthedialecticalprocesslikewiseconsistsofpartsorelementswhicharepropositions。Thedifficultyindicatedseemsthereforetorecurcontinually，andseemstobeadifficultyinherentinthenatureofthecase。Thisislikewhathappensintheordinaryprocessofprovinganything；thegroundsitmakesuseofneedthemselvestobebasedonothergroundsagain，andsoonadinflnitum。Thismanneroffurnishinggroundsandconditions，however，concernsthattypeofprooffromwhichthedialecticalmovementisdistinctandhencebelongstotheprocessofexternalknowledge。Astowhatthismovementis，itselementisthebareconcept；
thisfurnishesacontentwhichisthroughandthroughsubjectimpliciterandperse。Thereistobefound，therefore，nosortofcontentstandinginarelation，asitwere，toanunderlyingsubject，andgettingitssignificancebybeingattachedtothisasapredicate。Thepropositionasitappearsisamereemptyform。
Apartfromthesensuouslyapprehendedorideallypresented(vorgestellten)self，itisinthemainthemerenamequanamewhichdenotesthesubjectpureandsimple，theemptyunitwithoutanyconceptualcharacter。Forthisreasonitwoulde。g。beexpedienttoavoidthename“God“，becausethiswordisnotinitsprimaryuseaconceptionaswell，butthespecialnameofanunderlyingsubject，itsfixedresting-place；while，ontheotherhand，beingortheone，singleness，subject，etc。，themselvesdirectlyindicateconceptions。Furthermore，ifspeculativetruthsarestatedaboutthatsubject[God]，eventhentheircontentisdevoidoftheimmanentnotion，becausethatcontentismerelypresentintheformofapassivesubject，andowingtothisthespeculativetruthseasilytakeonthecharacterofmereedification。Fromthisside，too，theobstacle，arisingfromthehabitofputtingthespeculativepredicateintheformofaproposition，insteadoftakingitasaninherentessentialconception，iscapableofbeingmadegreaterorlessbythemerewayphilosophicaltruthsareputforward。Philosophicalexposition，faithfullyfollowingitsinsightintothenatureofspeculativetruth，mustretainthedialecticalform，andexcludeeverythingwhichisnotgraspedconceptuallyandisconception。
