Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich: Aesthetics and Religion

Hegel considered art a closer approach to the absolute than government. In the history of art he distinguished three periods—the Oriental, the Greek, and the romantic. He believed that the modern romantic form of art cannot encompass the magnitude of the Christian ideal. Hegel taught that religion moved from worship of nature through a series of stages to Christianity, where Christ represents the union of God and humanity, of spirit and matter. Philosophy goes beyond religion as it enables humankind to comprehend the entire historical unfolding of the absolute.

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• Influence
• Aesthetics and Religion
• Nature and the State
• The Hegelian Dialectic
• Life and Works
• Bibliography

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