Guest Author - Andrea Gardiner, Ph.D.

Hegel’s “The Phenomenology of Spirit”, also known as “The Phenomenology of Mind”, is quite a read. Hegel’s abstract discussion of consciousness is enough to make your head spin, unless of course you like that sort of stuff! Nonetheless, it is a exceptional piece of work that is meant to represent or show the reader the rise of the spirit out of Plato’s mythical cave, Plato’s cave representing its imprisonment. In this important piece Hegel argues against epistemology and decides to make a case for the appearance of knowledge; hence the Greek word phenomenology, meaning “to appear.”

The phenomenology acts as a guidebook that teaches the student how to elevate into philosophical consciousness, and escapes its prison of natural consciousness. Natural consciousness in this philosophical work possesses the lowest kind of knowledge. It has established its illusionary way of perceiving the world and cannot, or will not allow its way of thinking to be questioned. It is quite aware that if challenged it can be evolved into something much grander than itself, but is afraid to do so. It is fearful of what it can become and so it holds desperately to its way of being.

If however we were to translate philosophical and natural consciousness into more contemporary psychological and/or spiritual terminology, expressions such as ego consciousness and inner self would surface. What Hegel and Plato spoke of is no different than the ego consciousness that we allow to imprison us today. We tend to store a laundry list of beliefs and conventions that remain unquestioned within the ego conscious mind. When ego consciousness is given sole reign over the direction of the mind it will struggle with great effort to retain that control. As a result, walls are set up so that you may not direct your attention to anything that will challenge its authority. Its fear based operation will then keep you in the “cave.”

If you are to see your way out you must employ philosophical consciousness (knowledge from inner self). Like Hegel suggests, this knowledge is readily available. It is there for the taking and this greatly frustrates your ego consciousness. Philosophical consciousness (inner self) seeks its own growth and gains nothing from keeping its wisdom secret. To evolve it must attempt to promote the evolution of natural (ego) consciousness. The ego does not see this as evolution, but instead as death. It cannot conceive of itself as being different from its current state. Irregardless, the mind must examine itself if it is to advance.