NATÁLIA ACURCIO CARDOSO

Art appears in the process of consciousness development in the Phenomenology of Spirit, a work in which Hegel presents a path of necessity toward absolute knowledge, within the chapter on Religion. Since art is one of the figures of this system, which is entirely necessary, I would like to reflect on its peculiarities, and to what extent we can speak of the necessity of art. Hegel's theory of the spirit seems essential for us to understand how art operates as a figure, what its characteristics are, and what relationship we can establish with the author's philosophy. The central text for the development of this work will be Art-Religion, which is item B of chapter VII of the Phenomenology. Other parts of the work, however, will be approached for a better understanding of our basic text, and a central emphasis in our research will be given to the preface and the introduction of PS, since both operate as a guide to the understanding of the process of consciousness as a dialectical movement. In addition, the author's Lectures on Fine Arts will be addressed with a view to both an understanding of art, philosophy, and religion in this work, and a possible relation to the place of art in Phenomenology.