ABSTRACT
This chapter offers general observations about the concept of Geist, focusing on its employment. It highlights core elements in Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel's concept of spirit. The chapter considers how the concept of Geist informs and illuminates Hegel's distinctive account of action. It argues, against certain "expressivist" readings, that action for Hegel is best comprehended through the process of internal reflexivity central to the concept of spirit. The chapter also considers spirit's constitutive value for Hegel's theory of ethical life. It argues that reference to the logical-metaphysical account of spirit fosters appreciation of the nature, uniqueness and vitality of core elements of Hegel's philosophy of politics and practical philosophy generally. The chapter focuses on four features of his account of political life: the nature and process of its internal reflexivity, its character as historically realized freedom, its interculturality and its futurity.
