Explicit Reflection
Our methodology (Heinrichs's terminology)
The conscious, systematic reflection on the thought structures we apply in practice. The conceptual penetration of what we previously only performed implicitly. We become **consciously clear** about which logical structures guide our thinking - we do not merely think, but we **think about our thinking**.
Origin
Johannes Heinrichs coined the term "explicit (consecutive) reflection" as a counter-concept to "implicit (constitutive) reflection." Explicit reflection is "consecutive" - it follows after and makes conscious what was previously performed unconsciously. Heinrichs also calls it "retrospective reflection."
In Hegel
The **Logic of Essence** (Chaps. 5-8) begins explicit reflection - here we consciously think through the mediations that were only implicitly at work in the Logic of Being. The **Logic of the Concept** (Chaps. 9-24) is the site of fully developed explicit reflection. The chapter on Chemism (Chap. 15) makes explicit what was implicitly performed in the chapter on Measure (Chap. 3).
Cross-references
Implizite Reflexion · Reflexion · Determinations of Reflection · Performativ/Performativität · Spirale · Spiral staircase · Sublation · Wesen [Essence] · Concept · Mediation · Development
Verhältnis zur impliziten reflexion
Explicit reflection **necessarily presupposes** implicit reflection - we can only make explicit what we have already performed implicitly. The movement from implicit to explicit reflection is a **spiral movement**: we return to what we did at the beginning, but now on a higher, more conscious level.
Beispiele
- A chemist develops the **theory** of chemical affinity - he makes explicit what he previously performed implicitly in his practice - A child learns **grammar** in school - the child makes explicit the rules already applied in speaking - You are reading this text about thought structures - you are making explicit what you do implicitly when testing for truth
Die spiralbewegung (in drei windungen)
1. **Implicit reflection:** Performance without full awareness (the Measure chapter employs chemical logic) 2. **Reflected reflection:** Reflection on the performance (the Logic of Essence reflects on mediations) 3. **Explicit reflection:** Systematic comprehension (the Chemism chapter renders the logic of affinity explicit)
Praktische relevanz
Explicit reflection is the goal of any systematic education: you should not merely be **able to do** something, but also **know how** you are able to do it. This makes you independent of mere routine and enables you to consciously develop your thinking further.
Der unterschied zum bloßen nachdenken
Explicit reflection is not merely subsequent rumination, but the **systematic explication** of the structures that were operative in the performance. It is productive - it makes us **more capable**, not merely **more knowing**.
Alternative bezeichnung
Retrospective reflection, consecutive reflection (in Heinrichs)
Im buch
Chap. 3.9 (the movement toward explicit reflection), Chap. 5.1 (introduction to the Logic of Essence), Chap. 15.1 (Chemism as explicit reflection of what was implicit in Measure), throughout as a methodological goal