Some Thoughts of Spirit and State

The real spirit of this consciousness and the focal point of this knowledge is religion. It is the primary mode of self-consciousness, the spiritual consciousness of the national spirit itself, of the universal spirit which exists in and for itself, but in its determinate role as the spirit of a nation; it is the consciousness of truth in its purest and most undivided determination. And everything else which can be defined as true is the concern of all men in so far as it has a corresponding principle within religion. To this extent, religion, which is the representation of God, constitutes the universal horizon and foundation of the nation's existence. (p 105)
Hegel claims that the real state is animated by the national spirit and individuals must be conscious of their unity with the universal spirit, and points out that the spirit of the consciousness, the focus of the knowledge, and the foundation of the nation is religion. Religion is not only the nation’s self-consciousness, it object being the unity of the subjective and the objective but also the nature and the soul of a state upon which every aspect of the state could be built. I find the argument that a nation’s entire existence is based on religion very attractive. Religion shapes a state’s external appearances, such as political structure, ideology, art, and daily life, and even the history. When we look at the world history, we can examine how Christianity contributed to the internal conflict of different sects, and the industrial and democratic revolutionaries in Europe, how Confucianism attributed to a traditional and changeless China, and how the essence of Islam determined the process of Islam countries retreating from expansionists to the subjects of European colonialism. So how does religion exactly shape the national spirit and external appearances of a nation? How is this idea related the claim that world history is the plan of God and governed by reason?
I also want to mention the point that a nation which worships nature cannot possess freedom; for only if it sees God as a spirit which transcends nature can it itself become a spirit and attain freedom. Does this contradict what we are pursuing nowadays, since we are striving to understand the nature of the world through science? Or is science in essence a unity with God?
And while, in the case of individuals, we may have the impression that the principle of truth is not always translated into reality, we see that it cannot fail to be realised in nations as a whole. For the universal principle of truth permeates all the particular areas of national life, so that the latter becomes imbued with a practical religious consciousness of truth. Thus, the political constitution, the system of justice, ethical life in general, art, and science are all manifestations of truth in particular areas of national existence. (p 110)
Hegel regarded religion as the foundation of the entire existence of a nation and thought that every nation, built upon a specific religion, has its own principle of truth. Furthermore, he claimed that the principle in a state can always be translated to reality, and constitution, art, and science are all representations of the principle in a particular area. Constitution, art, ethical values are indeed strongly influenced by the national principle since we can see how much different these aspects are in different nations. However, is science just a subordinate to the national principle related to the religion of the state? It might make more sense in Hegel’s era, but now in a globalized world, we put much more weight on science and nations share similar principles of science. For example, physicists in the US and India might work on the same topic using the same methodology, although however different these two nations are. Science can also influence philosophy, what Hegel saw as the highest manifestation of a culture. I once saw an interesting idea that if Darwin’s The Origin of Species came up before Descartes’ time, it would have tremendously affected Descartes’ philosophy, and maybe that of later philosophers, such as Kant and Hegel.
Is science somehow related to Hegel’s universal spirit of word history? Is human history the plan of God, as Hegel pointed out, or is it directed by the characters of human genes, as Darwin’s followers proposed. I feel like nowadays science should play a much more role in the process of seeking the universal truth rather than a particular area shaped by the national principle, as Hegel said.