"Hegel begins the book by stating why prefaces to this kind of work cannot really be written. The reason is that in this kind of book, there can be no preannounced lesson to be learned, and the idea is that whatever it is that one learns, one has to learn it for oneself in going through the model cases laid out in the book. He says that in fact everything hangs on apprehending and expressing the true not merely as substance but also equally as subject. That "subject" is said to be "pure negativity," which estranges itself and then restores itself. As it moves in that field of estrangement and restoration, it comes to understand that the true (what it seeks) is the whole and that it only comes into view as a result of what the book investigates"--
Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit has a long-standing reputation as one of the key books in the history of Western philosophy, but many are unsure just what it is about. Even the words in the title are disputed: What sense of phenomenology is being used? Is Geist to be rendered spirit or mind? What does this have to do with Hegel's original title, The Science of the Experience of Consciousness? To add to the perplexity, Hegel developed his own technical vocabulary in writing the book, but the jargon he created never caught on and thus there is no common usage for it. As a consequence, both the beginner and the Hegel specialist must make key decisions about to understand many basic terms in the book.
This Oxford Guide walks the reader through this canonical text paragraph-by-paragraph using accessible and approachable language, such that both students and instructors--whether they come from philosophy, political theory, literature, or history backgrounds--will benefit.
