twist that connects Spalding with both Kant and Schleiermacher.
At the same time, his view of generic religious recognition assumes
a greater degree of autonomy than is present in earlier religious
conceptions.
3.3. Hegel and Schleiermacher
Given the extensive recent discussion of Hegel’s concept of recog-
nition,^102 the present study does not offer anything new or original on
this philosophical debate. I will simply look at some early texts of
Hegel, situating them in the broader framework of the study of
religious recognition. Given the dense nature of Hegel’s texts, this
discussion will simplify the complex philosophical issues to an extent.
Thomas Schmidt pays attention to many early writings of Hegel,
stating that the earlyEntwürfe über Religion und Liebe(1797/8)
already contains some aspects of a theory of recognition.^103 As the
evidence is slight and the wordAnerkennungdoes not appear, the
claim remains beyond the scope of our study. Schmidt further ana-
lyses the so-calledNaturrechtsschriftof 1802, in which,anerkennen/
Anerkennungappears nine times, in great detail.^104 Hegel’s use of the
term resembles that of Fichte; the only religious context is found in
the two or perhaps three last occurrences of the term, in which Hegel
discusses tragedy and comedy in stories relating to Greek gods.^105
As Schmidt remarks,^106 it is possible to read this passage in terms
of recognition in which respect, particularity, and universality are
affirmed. Given the slender evidence, hardly any conclusions regard-
ing the broader tradition of religious recognition can be drawn from
this passage. The proximity to Fichte’s writing on natural law prob-
ably explains the use of the term in this context.
Honneth points out that Hegel starts to use Fichte’s concept of
recognition programmatically in hisSystem der Sittlichkeit(1802/3),
written soon afterNaturrechtsschrift.^107 Thefirst context of his use
(^102) Siep 2014 (orig. 1979) initiated this trend. The new edition of 2014 reports
extensively on new special studies.
(^103) Schmidt 1997, 93. See also Harris 1980 and Siep 2014, 86–96.
(^104) Naturrechtsschrift, 434 (twice), 438, 445, 458, 470, 495, 496 (twice).
(^105) Naturrechtsschrift, 495–6. (^106) Schmidt 1997, 316–17.
(^107) Honneth 1992, 30. Siep 2014, 191–4.
136 Recognition and Religion