Hegel's Theory of Imagination

CHAPTER 4 The Inwardizing Imagination (Geistesphilosophie 1805–06)

55 CHAPTER 4 The Inwardizing Imagination (Geistesphilosophie 1805–06) Hegel’s 1805–06 psychology lectures1 develop the role of the imagination more clearly. He discusses the imagination in terms of time and space, the animal (body), and subjectivity. Most importantly, he identifies time with “inwardizing” (zurücktreten). Inwardizing is the negative moment in the dialectic of identity making. From here on in Hegel’s thought, this negative moment is a central characteristic of the imagination. The negative moment is a temporal one. This has two implications for his theory of the imagination at this stage. One is that the spatial aspect is not essential yet. The spatial aspect is identified with the lateral spread of the meaning of a word, its intention. It does become essential later (see next chapter). But here the spatial is not predominant, the temporal is. The second implication of this predominance of the temporal, is that we are dealing again with a kind of plunge into the night. It is reminiscent of the mise en abyme of the Sundering Absolute. But rather than an ontological indifference point vaguely operating at the heart of being and cognition, here we have a dialectical negative. This night-time is the sine qua non of the intellect’s dialectical development: it is determined by and determining of the increasingly complex levels of cognition from intuition to the ability to communicate. The lectures are divided into a discussion of intuition, recollection, and the beginnings of language. Hegel refers to these three moments as “Imagination in General.” But it is not surprising, given the role of the night-time here, that he ‫ﱠ‬ also refers to them as “the dreaming spirit,” and contrasts them with the awakened, fully articulate, communicating spirit. In this chapter, I begin by discussing the place of the imagination in the text of the Geistesphilosophie of 1805–06. Then, to clarify Hegel’s view, I compare it with Aristotle’s notion of imagination. This focuses on time as the negative, inwardizing movement of the mind essential to producing images. Recollection is the next stage of development. For Hegel, recollection is of “the familiar.” But recollection lacks the externality needed for there to be language. It is signs that allow for transition to language. A sign, for Hegel, is an image that stands for its history, stands for its recollections. Developed through memory, signs indicate a transition to shared sign systems. My analysis as a whole shows that for Hegel, communication systems require the negative movement and stored images of “the dreaming spirit” for their constant awakening.2 OUTLINE OF THE STRUCTURE OF THE TEXT AND THE PLACE OF THE IMAGINATION IN IT Let us begin by situating our discussion within the text of the Geistesphilosophie of 1805–06. The basic triadic development of Hegel’s notes are given in bold headings by Hegel. For clarity I have isolated them schematically here:3 The Inwardizing Imagination: Geistesphilosophie 1805–06 A) Spirit Acc. to its Concept→ a) Theoretical Knowing (i.e., Intelligence)→ B) Objective Spirit b) The Will A) Imagination in General: 4 B) Language (Sprache): C) The Constitution c) Objective Spirit i) Intuition/Imagination (Images) vi) Names (Tones) ii) Recollection (The Familiar) v) Memory (Order) iii) To Mean (bezeichnen) (Signs) vi) Understanding (Knowl.) Our concern with the imagination places us in the first overall moment, Spirit according to its Concept.5 The discussion of the imagination, or “dreaming spirit,” occurs in the transitions of the Intelligence. The section on Intelligence is Hegel’s development of theoretical knowledge, which, as in his 1803–04 lectures, is for him the development of the epistemological foundations of language. Let me say a few words here about the general structure and problematic of the intellect. In the intellect we have two subtriads: A) Imagination in General (die Einbildungskraft; dreaming spirit/traümende Geist), and B) Language (Sprache; awakened spirit/erwachende Geist). These correspond to 56 Hegel’s Theory of Imagination two powers: the representing power of the imagination6 and the name-giving power. The name-giving power is the “first creative power which spirit uses.”7 A third power is that of the Understanding, and it brings in the transition within language to Will. The problem being worked out in the first of these subtriads (Imagination in General) is that of creating an inner world of representations (images) that are meaningful (to oneself). The problem that leads to Language is that...