Abstract

This chapter explores the concept of sedimentation in Hegel’s account of absolute knowledge in the Phenomenology of Spirit drawing on Merleau-Ponty’s 1954–55 course notes on institution and passivity. The chapter first identifies the notion of sedimentation that informs Merleau-Ponty’s reflections on institution. Such a sedimentation involves a non-egoic modality of retention that activates critical thinking. The chapter then explains why absolute knowledge in the Phenomenology of Spirit rests on a process of sedimentation that is very much in line with Merleau-Ponty’s analysis. My argument revolves on the aspects of self-appropriation and ownership that characterize Hegel’s account of absolute spirit, which are integral to a Hegelian-inspired view of ethical memory.