Abstract

Most scholarly writing about Hegel's philosophy emphasizes his philosophy of Spirit. The genesis of his concept of Spirit is in his early writings on reality as an organism, where he interprets reality as organized in a fashion which is analogous to the unity and distinction we find in the parts of a living being. ;The purpose of this dissertation is to summarize and analyze the documents which show how Hegel arrived at his mature theory of organism. The study is strictly historical and textual, as the sole intent is to show Hegel's development of the theme of organicity. ;During the years before his move to Jena in 1801, his principal interest was in formulating a philosophy which could integrate religion and society into a united whole. He synthesized religion, nature, and society into a whole which this dissertation characterizes as the "living continuum." According to this model, reality is literally alive and organized as the parts of a living being. ;During his years at Jena, Hegel began to realize that a comprehensive philosophical system requires a focus which is more dialectically active. For this reason, he employed the concept of Spirit as his most prominent category and used organism as the explanatory means to elucidate the philosophy of Spirit. ;As a result of the study presented in this dissertation, it becomes clear that organism was the model of reality which led Hegel to his mature standpoint, and Hegel continued to use organism as his means for presenting the dialectical relationships of Spirit