This fifth book on Hegel assesses the consequences of Hegelian thought for spirituality. The fourth title in this series, Hegel’s Philosophy of Universal Reconciliation (Cambridge Scholars Publishing 2013), recalled the more explicit phrase, “to restore all things in Christ”, identifying the universal with the particular and, finally, the individual. This concreteness is the true universal. The “double negation”, “The Orthodox Hegel”, shows how the Christian movement, obliged by its own momentum to recognise its spiritual identity with the thought called, metonymously, “Hegelian”, is Spirit itself impelling. As standing for, even incorporating this movement, as Aristotle once had incorporated philosophy for some, Hegel instances that concrete particularity determining religion towards its ideal of universality in an individual, the spirit “poured out” upon “all flesh” but on a given “day”. It originates in “prophecy” as philosophy originates in religion and art, the three “forms of absolute spirit” (Hegel) perfected in philosophy, the third, which “the absolute religion” must, consequently, elicit. After indexing this project, themes of logic, subject and predicate, meaning and identity in difference are developed. Philosophy and absolute idealism are identified, thus capturing the latter for orthodoxy. The primacy of mediated thought over immediate observation emerges as the first condition for science and spiritual self-consciousness generally. In later chapters, the thought rises to properly theologico-metaphysical themes, such as Rinaldi’s critique of the Hegelians, Kenneth Foldes and Richard Winfield. Trinity, incarnation, immortality, infinity, and the absolute are all discussed, along with revelation, the idea. A postscript relates the work to contrary attitudes among some orthodox thinkers, falling short of, or denying the rights and duties of, a specifically speculative reason. The title intends no reference to any recent work denying the orthodoxy of Hegel or, rather, the Hegelian character of orthodoxy. Review "In his fifth volume of interconnected essays relating to Hegel, Stephen Theron gives us a rich, systematic exploration of Hegel's contribution to Christian thinking as well as to philosophy - indeed, to Christian thinking as philosophy, and vice versa. A former student of Peter Geach, and the author of many publications on natural law, ethics, and logic, Theron brings to his work a wide knowledge of Christian thought and ancient and modern philosophy."Robert M. WallaceThe Downside Review, 134: 1-2 (2016) About the Author Stephen Theron researched at Leeds under Peter Geach (with a doctoral thesis titled “Morals as Founded on Natural Law”, 1979), and further at Münster, with Fernando Inciarte and Joseph Pieper (with the theses “Philosophy or Dialectic” (1994) and “Natural Law Reconsidered”, (2002)). He has assisted at congresses at Eichstätt (ISM, 1985), Rome (1986 and 1988), and Ottawa (ISMP, 1992), and has published twelve books and numerous smaller writings.
