This text presents a critical analysis of Hegel's early characterization of reflection as an instrument of philosophy. The author raises significant objections to this formulation, arguing that reflection should not be viewed as an external tool that could potentially be replaced by other instruments. Instead, reflection is considered the essential medium and the very nature of philosophy; while reflection can exist independently of philosophy, philosophizing is impossible without it. The author further rejects the reduction of reflection to a dead instrumentarium, a formal method, or an Aristotelian organon. Reflection is not a tool that is always readily available; rather, it must be performed inventively in a new way during decisive philosophical situations. Philosophical reflection is characterized as a frontal encounter or confrontation with the subject matter, where the thinker often finds themselves as the target of critique and attack from the object of thought. The text concludes by asserting that although reflection was primarily theorized within post-Kantian German philosophy, modern philosophical inquiry must transcend these historical schemas to rediscover reflection as a dynamic and vital engagement with the world.