The word "spirit" has so many connotations. Per the thesaurus: character, courage, energy, enthusiasm, essence, heart, humor, life, mood, morale, quality, resolve, temperament, vigor, vitality, warmth, and will. 

Hegel had a different interpretation: God.  And he said it as clear as day.  

He defines God as the timeless Absolute Idea, the idea of ideas, self-thinking thought.  But it doesn't end there.  The Absolute Idea freely others itself in Nature, and enters this finite world as Spirit.  It does so to become actual, real, not just abstract truth.  

This episode reviews the etymology of the word "spirit" across different cultures - Greek, Latin, Hebrew, even Proto-Indo-European, up to the present day.  And then explores how spirit relates to Hegel's tripartite system, and finds its fulfillment in what Hegel calls True Infinity.  

Support the Show.