The Philosophy of Hegel - Softcover

Speight, Allen

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1844650693 ISBN 13: 9781844650699

Publisher: Acumen, 2008

Synopsis

Few philosophers can induce as much puzzlement among students as Hegel. His works are notoriously dense and make very few concessions for a readership unfamiliar with his systematic view of the world. Allen Speight's introduction to Hegel's philosophy takes a chronological perspective on the development of Hegel's system. In this way, some of the most important questions in Hegelian scholarship are illuminated by examining in their respective contexts works such as the "Phenomenology and the Logic". Speight begins with the young Hegel and his writings prior to the "Phenomenology" focusing on the notion of positivity and how Hegel's social, economic and religious concerns became linked to systematic and logical ones. He then examines the "Phenomenology" in detail, including its treatment of scepticism, the problem of immediacy, the transition from "consciousness" to "self-consciousness", and the emergence of the social and historical category of "Spirit". The following chapter explores the Logic, paying particular attention to a number of vexed issues associated with Hegel's claims to systematicity and the relation between the categories of Hegel's logic and nature or spirit (Geist). The final chapters discuss Hegel's ethical and political thought and the three elements of his notion of "absolute spirit": art, religion and philosophy, as well as the importance of history to his philosophical approach as a whole.

About this title

Review:

"An outstanding book. It demonstrates a wide and deep knowledge of Hegel and modern Hegel scholarship and an evident enthusiasm for the study of Hegel's ideas. Speight is a sure-footed interpreter of Hegel s texts and his selection of particular topics cannot be faulted. It is a pleasure to read." --Dudley Knowles, University of Glasgow

About the Author:

Allen Speight is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Boston University.

About this edition

• Publisher: Acumen
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 1844650693
• ISBN 13: 9781844650699
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 240