ONLINE FIRST
published on February 10, 2017
Douglas Finn
https://doi.org/10.5840/owl2016121418
Spiritual Consumption
Eating and the Christian Eucharist in Hegel
This article seeks to gain a new perspective on Hegel¡¯s Eucharistic theology by reading it through the lens of his philosophy of nature, specifically, his extensive discussion of animal eating, digestion, and excretion. This juxtaposition confirms Walter Jaeschke¡¯s claim that Hegel, in offering a philosophical interpretation of the Eucharist, articulates a sacramental principle governing the whole of reality. In Hegel¡¯s system, the biological process of assimilation serves as a master image of the work of Spirit across a number of natural, cultural, religious, and philosophical phenomena.