Hegel

wide criticism both from Western and Eastern scholars.

This accessible and highly readable book is the first full-lengthbiography of Hegel to be published since the largely outdatedtreatments of the nineteenth century. Althaus draws on newhistorical material and scholarly sources about the life and timesof this most enigmatic and influential of modern philosophers. Hepaints a living portrait of a thinker whose personality was morecomplex than is often imagined, and shows that Hegel's relation tohis revolutionary times was also more ambiguous than is usuallyaccepted. Althaus presents a broad chronological narrative of Hegel'sdevelopment from his early theological studies in Tubingen and theassociated unpublished writings, profoundly critical of theestablished religious orthodoxies. He traces Hegel's years ofphilosophical apprenticeship with Schelling in Jena as he struggledfor an independent intellectual position, up to the crowning periodof influence and success in Berlin where Hegel appeared as theadvocate of the modern Prussian state. Althaus tells a vivid storyof Hegel's life and his intellectual and personal crises, drawinggenerously on the philosopher's own words from his extensivecorrespondence. His central role in the cultural and political lifeof the time is illuminated by the impressions and responses of hiscontemporaries, such as Schelling, Schleiermacher and Goethe. This panoramic introduction to Hegel's life, work and times will bea valuable resource for scholars, students and anyone interested inthis towering figure of philosophy.

Of the first six chapters of the Phenomenology of the spirit -- Summary of the course in 1937-1938 -- Philosophy and wisdom -- A note on eternity, time, and the concept -- Interpretation of the third part of chapter VIII -- A dialectic of the real and the phenomenological method in Hegel.

This book incorporates seven 'Introductions' that Hegel wrote for each of his major works: the Phenomenology, Logic, Philosophy of Right, History, Fine Art, Religion and History of Philosophy, and includes an Introduction and Epilogue by the Editors, serving to introduce Hegel to the reader and to situate him and his works into their wider context.

Here, 13 major scholars reassess the place of Hegel in contemporary theory and the philosophy of religion. The contributors focus not only on Hegelian analysis but also on the transformative value of his thought in relation to our current 'turn to religion'.

Hegel's analysis of his culture identifies nihilistic tendencies in modernity i.e., the death of God and end of philosophy. Philosophy and religion have both become hollowed out to such an extent that traditional disputes between faith and reason become impossible because neither any longer possesses any content about which there could be any dispute; this is nihilism. Hegel responds to this situation with a renewal of the ontological argument (Logic) and ontotheology, which takes the form of philosophical trinitarianism. Hegel on the Proofs and Personhood of God examines Hegel's recasting of the theological proofs as the elevation of spirit to God and defense of their content against the criticisms of Kant and Jacobi. It also considers the issue of divine personhood in the Logic and Philosophy of Religion. This issue reflects Hegel's antiformalism that seeks to win back determinate content for truth (Logic) and the concept of God. While the personhood of God was the issue that divided the Hegelian school into left-wing and right-wing factions, both sides fail as interpretations. The center Hegelian view is both virtually unknown, and the most faithful to Hegel's project. What ties the two parts of the book together--Hegel's philosophical trinitarianism or identity as unity in and through difference (Logic) and his theological trinitarianism, or incarnation, trinity, reconciliation, and community (Philosophy of Religion)--is Hegel's Logic of the Concept. Hegel's metaphysical view of personhood is identified with the singularity (Einzelheit) of the concept. This includes as its speculative nucleus the concept of the true infinite: the unity in difference of infinite/finite, thought and being, divine-human unity (incarnation and trinity), God as spirit in his community.

A major and comprehensive study of the philosophy of Hegel, his place in the history of ideas, and his continuing relevance and importance. Professor Taylor relates Hegel to the earlier history of philosophy and, more particularly, to the central intellectual and spiritual issues of his own time. He sees these in terms of a pervasive tension between the evolving ideals of individuality and self-realization on the one hand, and on the other a deeply-felt need to find significance in a wider community. Charles Taylor engages with Hegel sympathetically, on Hegel's own terms and, as the the subject demands, in detail. We are made to grasp the interconnections of the system without being overwhelmed or overawed by its technicality. We are shown its importance and its limitations, and are enabled to stand back from it.