There has been no extended treatment of Hegels theory of the unconscious, and apart from a few passing references,

what commentary that does exist is in relation to Hegels rather concise remarks about madness or Verrcktheit revealed mainly in the Zustze or Additions to his Encyclopaedia of the Philosophical Sciences. It is rather ironic that the subject matter itself has eluded philosophical attention especially since it plays such a vital role in Hegels philosophy of subjective spirit. The absence of any detailed treatment on the topic is no doubt due to the fact that Hegel himself does not directly address the nature of the unconscious with any precision. What few remarks he does make leave the commentator with the challenge of determining just how the role of the unconscious fits into his theory of mind and to what extent it may be applied to his overall philosophical system. There seems to be a continued fascination if not a fixation with the Phenomenology of Spirit despite the fact that Hegel never considered it to be a central part of his mature philosophy. I should inform the reader up front that this work is not about the Phenomenology, but rather about Hegels contribution to understanding the psychodynamics of the mind. As a philosopher and practicing clinical psychologist trained in the psychoanalytic tradition, I find myself faced with a dual task informed by competing loyalties: namely, to expound with philosophical clarity Hegels notion of the unconscious abyss while bringing it into contemporary discourse with the discipline most commonly associated with the advancement of psychodynamic thought. By todays standards, Hegels treatment of subjective spirit constitutes a treatise on psychodynamic psychology, one that merits our serious attention. This is particularly germane given that both philosophy and psychoanalysis remain largely unaware of Hegel s insights on the dynamic unconscious. Hegels theory of the abyss has profound implications for understanding his philosophy of mind. One aim of this project is to spark more general interest in ix Hegels Philosophy of Spirit, and particularly on what I wish to refer to as his metapsychologymainly represented by his anthropological and psychological treatment of subjective spirit, a subject area that still remains underappreciated by mainstream Hegel audiences. A secondary goal is to bring Hegel into dialogue with Freud and show that what Hegel has to say is of relevance for psychoanalysis today. One hope is to appeal to the psychoanalytic community to see the value of Hegel and how he enriches our theoretical conception of the nature and status of the unconscious. For both Hegel and Freud, the unconscious is responsible for the generative activity that makes rational self-conscious thought possible. When juxtaposed to contemporary views on the nature and structure of the psyche, Hegels ideas on the unconscious share many compatibilities with psychoanalysis. While I do not stress a complete convergence between their respective systems, which is neither possible nor desirable, I will attempt to show points of intersection between Hegels theory of the abyss and Freuds metapsychology. Not only will I argue that Hegels notion of the unconscious is an indispensable and necessary feature of his entire philosophy, but he anticipates much of what psychoanalysis claims to be its own unique discovery. By bringing Hegel into dialogue with Freud, new vistas emerge that deepen our understanding of psychic reality. Because I am attempting to appeal to academic philosophers and psychoanalytic theoreticians, as well as professional clinicians, I am not likely to satisfy all readers. Purists will heckle at reading Freud into Hegel and Hegel into Freud, and those unfamiliar with the jargon from each discipline will likely become annoyed when concepts appear either murky or watered down due to pragmatic considerations governing the need to provide intelligible translations. One thing about Hegels writing style that is generally uncontested is that it is simply deplorable. His use of rhetoric is outdated by modern standards and his choice of certain wordssuch as concept (Begriff )bring forth different meanings. But

because I am mainly concerned with illuminating a much neglected area of Hegel scholarship, I find it necessary to retain certain technical language familiar to such audiences while still attempting to provide general accounts of his terms and ideas in contemporary language in order to make his theories more comprehensible. I will consider myself successful if I can reach some kind of middle ground. Some readers may also object to my interpretation of the development of the ego in Hegels system, claiming I go too far in importing a psychoanalytic account into his unconscious ontology. Because Hegel says very little about the nature of ego development in relation to the abyss, I feel I must venture into speculative waters and give voice to what can be said about the unconscious ego inferred from the implications of Hegels actual words. With this speculative confessionto which Hegels philosophy itself belongs, I ask the reader to keep an open mind with regard to its viability for advancing contemporary modes of thought.With respect, I must extend my apologies to the purist: I hope you will forgive me.
x preface

This work stems from an article, Hegel on the Unconscious Abyss: Implications for Psychoanalysis, Owl of Minerva, 1996, 28(1), 5975, which is largely the basis of the introduction. I have also produced revised portions from various articles that appeared in previous forms: Theosophic and Neo-Platonic Influences on Hegels Theory of the Unconscious Abyss, Colloquia Manilana: Interdisciplinary Journal of the Philippine Dominican Center of Institutional Studies , 1998, VI, 2544; Hegel on the Unconscious Soul, Science et Esprit, 2000, 52(3), 321340; Hegel on Projective Identification: Implications for Klein, Bion, and Beyond, The Psychoanalytic Review, 2000, 87(6), 841874; Hegel and Freud on Psychic Reality, Journal of the Society for Existential Analysis, 2000, 12(1), 159183; and Dialectical Psychoanalysis: Toward Process Psychology, Psychoanalysis and Contemporary Thought, 2000, 23(3), 2054. I wish to extend my greatest appreciation to the J.William Fulbright Board of Foreign Scholarships and The Foundation for Educational Exchange Between Canada and the United States of America for awarding me a full research scholarship and travel grant for the 19961997 academic year which allowed me to conduct invaluable research at the University of Toronto and York University. I am especially indebted to Les Green and the Department of Philosophy at York University for continuing to provide me with staff and research privileges necessary to complete this book. I am also grateful to Andrew MacRae and The Research Institute at Lakeridge Health for providing me a research grant with regard to this project. I owe a debt of thanks to many people which these words cannot adequately convey. I wish to give my deepest gratitude to John Lachs for his unwavering commitment and personal care as a mentor and friend whose dedication helped bring this project to fruition. I also wish to thank Daniel Berthold-Bond for his receptivity and detailed comments and suggestions while preparing this book for publication. I am further beholden to John Burbidge for his consultation, correspondence, and receiving my personal visits to discuss crucial aspects of Hegels texts, to John Russon for his detailed critical feedback and suggestions, and to Errol Harris and Jay Bernstein for their availability, correspondence, and direction regarding significant portions of the manuscript. The staff at the State University of New York Press have been a fabulous team to work with: I am deeply grateful to Jane Bunker, Senior Acquisitions Editor, and Laurie Searl, Production Manager, for their openness and enthusiasm in using my painting on the front cover. I also want to thank Fran Keneston for her marketing ideas and effort, and Alan Hewat, Copy Editor, for not butchering my manuscript. Finally, I wish to thank most of all my wife Nadine for her love, encouragement, and support during my times of intense preoccupation with

this project.