Abstract

On the Arbitrary Nature of Things approaches Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit through a paradigm of agnosticism developed from Hegel's own critique of systems of knowledge. This work traces Hegel's descriptions of the movements of Spirit with equal measures of charity and skepticism. It provokes one to question the level of agnosticism that should be taken toward our various systems of human understanding, both in Hegel's Phenomenology and in our contemporary world. With respect to our contemporary world, Bridges questions whether the nature of things is ultimately arbitrary and finds that phenomena such as the placebo effect and the use of sensoriums in phenomenological anthropology add credence to the position of agnosticism toward the arbitrary nature of things.