The Relationship between God and Creation in Hegel’s Logic and Philosophy of Nature

Abstract In this article I analyse some aspects of Hegel’s doctrine of creation as contained in his Logic and Philosophy of Nature. I draw attention to the parallel which exists between Kant’s Transcendental Ideal and Hegel’s Absolute Idea. Further, in exploring Hegel’s concept of the True Infinite, I defend the view that there has to be some place for divine transcendence within Hegel’s systematic philosophy. God is not merely a representation for a fully immanent logic. On the other hand, I attempt to explain the main heterodoxy ascribed to Hegel’s doctrine of creation – that it fails to account for unqualified divine transcendence and freedom to create – with recourse to the post-Kantian nature of his philosophical theology. Finally, I venture to qualify some further common judgements regarding Hegel’s doctrine of creation through an exploration of two themes – divine incompleteness before creation, and creatio ex nihilo .