Implicit Reflection (also: reflexio concomitans)
Our methodology (Heinrichs's terminology)
The carrying-out of thought structures in practice, without seeing through these structures explicitly or grasping them conceptually. We apply logical categories, but do not consciously reflect on how we think. We judge, infer, distinguish—but the structures we use in doing so remain in the background of our consciousness. Not a subsequent reflection on something already present, but the accompanying structure of every performance itself.
Origin
Thomas Aquinas coined the term reflexio concomitans (accompanying reflection) for the intellect's co-awareness in every act of cognition. Heinrichs, in 1976 (Reflexion als soziales System), makes this the foundational concept of his logic of reflection: implicit reflection is non-circular because it is not discursive.
In Hegel
Hegel himself does not use this terminology explicitly, but the matter itself is central to his method: the logic of being operates largely in implicit reflection—we discover immediate determinations (quality, quantity, measure) without seeing through the mediations that constitute them. The transition to the logic of essence is the transition to explicit reflection on these mediations.
Cross-references
Explicit Reflection · Reflexion · Determinations of Reflection · Performativ/Performativität · Selbstanwendung · Spirale · Spiral staircase · Sein · Unmittelbar/Vermittelt · Selbstanwendung
Beispiele
- A chemist observes neutralization reactions and recognizes patterns—he is already carrying out the logic of affinity without systematically penetrating it - A child learns to speak and applies grammatical rules correctly—but cannot yet formulate these rules explicitly - When reading, you automatically check for truth—you carry out the question of truth without reflecting on its logical structure
Systematische bedeutung
Implicit reflection is the starting point of every philosophical analysis. We never begin at "zero"—we always already begin in the midst of the performance of thought structures. The task of philosophy is to bring these implicitly performed structures to explicit reflection.
In der logik-struktur (sein-wesen-begriff)
- Being: Implicit reflection dominates—we perform without seeing through - Essence: Transition—reflection becomes aware of itself - Concept: Explicit reflection—systematic comprehension of the structures
Praktische relevanz
When you think through a problem, you are already using more complex structures than you are aware of. The art consists in catching up with these implicit reflections—making them explicit after the fact and thereby sharpening your thinking.
Der vorgriff-fall
The Measure chapter (Chapter 3) uses chemical categories in implicit reflection—Hegel carries out the logic of affinity without developing it systematically. Only in the Chemism chapter (Chapter 15) is this logic brought to explicit reflection. This is not an error but shows the real order of thought: implicit reflection precedes explicit reflection.
Im buch
Chap. 1.2, 3.9 (methodological reflection on measure), Chap. 15.1 (the "anticipation" as example), Chap. 23.2, 24.2, Appendix A, throughout in the performative method