Ma`rifat Falsafi

Hegel was one of the few Western philosophers to raise new questions and introduce controversial issues, particularly the Phenomenology of Spirit. Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit, whose understanding is indispensable to comprehending his philosophy, was a turning point in the history of Western philosophy, beyond the Kantian epistemology. The Phenomenology of Spirit accounts for individual, social, ethical, historical, educational and even mystical dimensions of human life, both epistemologically and ontologically. In this paper, pointing to the significance of the Phenomenology of Spirit to Hegel's philosophy, the author reviews Hegel's account of the evolution of mind from sense-certainty, perception, understanding, self-consciousness to Reason. Drawing upon the dialectic of master and slave, then, the author discusses the educational aspect of the Phenomenology of Spirit. From this epistemological perspective, Hegel provides a philosophical explanation for revealed religions such as Judaism and Christianity. He sees the Infinite Spirit and the finite spirit in the path of evolution on equal standing, and depicting the Absolute Spirit, tries to substantiate his philosophy.