The idea of conscience in the mysticism of Richard Rolle and Hegel’s philosophy
E. N. Sobolnikova, D. Proud
Shagi / Steps 2023 DOI: 10.22394/2412-9410-2023-9-3-159-173 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Mysticism |
| Key points | Argues that Rolle's and Hegel's theories of conscience are complementary: Rolle focuses on the formation of conscience through mystical love for God, while Hegel focuses on the functioning of a mature conscience in society as a sense of duty. |
Abstract
This article examines the problem of mystical and religious foundations of morality, which are interconnected, first of all, with the inner world of a person - with duty, conscience, self-esteem. In what follows two theories of conscience are analyzed, compared and contrasted: those of the fourteenth-century mystic Richard Rolle and those of the philosopher Georg Friedrich Wilhelm Hegel. The main attention is paid to the comparative analysis of the idea of conscience in the mysticism of Rolle and in Hegel’s moral philosophy. If for Rolle conscience is the voice of the supreme transcendent God, for Hegel conscience is a generalized voice of significant others transferred to the inner plane, which is conditioned by a person’s political views or social position. These points of view do not exclude each other: one focuses on how conscience matures, how it is formed on the basis of mystical aspiration and love for God, while the other focuses on the mechanism of functioning of a mature conscience, which realizes itself in society in a sense of duty. According to Rolle, conscience is the beating of an inner intelligence. In the absence of this, we are unlikely to act upon the knowledge that conscience presents to us. According to Hegel, conscience is the divine voice with immediate knowledge of existence. But to goad us into action conscience must be more than this; its content incorporates an experience with a religious or spiritual quality that is beyond conceptual analysis.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on mysticism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The mystical mind: probing the biology of religious experience | 2000 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Religious and Mystical Experiences as Artifacts of Temporal Lobe Function: A General Hypothesis | 1983 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The Problem of Pure Consciousness: Mysticism and Philosophy | 1993 | Edited collection of essays | |
| Irreducible Mind: Toward a Psychology for the 21st Century | 2020 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mysticism and schizophrenia: A phenomenological exploration of the structure of consciousness in the schizophrenia spectrum disorders. | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |