Geist

Spirit is the third term in the system after logic and nature --- the return to itself out of otherness. In nature, the idea is outside itself (spatial, temporal, material). In spirit, the idea returns to itself: consciousness, self-consciousness, reason. Spirit is not an isolated subject but intersubjective (recognition), institutional (family, society, state), and historical (developing). Three forms: (1) Subjective spirit --- psychology, (2) Objective spirit --- right, morality, ethical life, (3) Absolute spirit --- art, religion, philosophy. Spirit is freedom --- being with itself in the other. It manifests itself in history and knows itself in philosophy. Hegel's formulation "Logic is the exhibition of God before creation" is to be understood metaphorically: it refers to the pure categorial structures, not a personal God (see Chap. 23.7).