Volume 53, Issue 1/2, 2022
Andrew Komasinski

Pages 1-29
https://doi.org/10.5840/owl2022121441
History and Philosophical Method
Hegel, Stewart, and Chinese Religion
Here, I consider three issues in Jon Stewart¡¯s Hegel¡¯s Interpretation of the Religions of the World chapter on Hegel¡¯s treatment of Chinese religions in the Lectures on the Philosophy of Religion. First, I show how Stewart¡¯s compilation of multiple courses into one unified entity hides the substantial promotion of its status in the 1831 lectures. Second, I contend that rather than identifying Hegel¡¯s Chinese religion with the ancient Zhou practices as Stewart does, Hegel sees it as referring to state Ruism up to and including Hegel¡¯s time. Finally, I posit that the main challenge is distinguishing Hegel¡¯s method of philosophical history from other forms of history and the consequences this has for evaluating the determinate religions. In the process, I argue for a broad dialectical interpretation over one committed to each step in Hegel¡¯s treatment of these religions.