The Phenomenology of Spirit
Hegel's first major work on the development of consciousness.
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The work follows consciousness as it moves through multiple phases, beginning with individual viewpoints and later advancing to shared societal and historical structures.[1]
Making and release
The Preface contains a thinly veiled and pungent critique of Schelling's philosophy.[2] This direct and mocking critique created a permanent rift between the two philosophers.[3] The French Revolution, Napoleon's ascent and defeat, and the Holy Roman Empire's collapse were all events that Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel lived through.[4] In 1801, Hegel became a Privatdozent at the University of Jena alongside Schelling and also served as a co-editor for the Critical Journal of Philosophy.[2]
Once Schelling departed Jena in 1803, Hegel started to formulate a philosophical stance that was more his own.[2] A pivotal moment in Hegel's career and intellectual growth arrived with the 1807 release of the Phenomenology.[2] A deadline in October 1806 forced Hegel to complete the manuscript with extreme urgency.[5] The text's main body was completed by Hegel on the evening prior to that battle.[5]
What the cited sources add
The scholar Andrew Alexander Davis terms the Preface's targets "pseudo-philosophy"—methodological tendencies that obstruct genuine conceptual inquiry.[6] Hegel argues that philosophy must be an immersive "presentation" (Darstellung) rather than an external "explanation" (Erklärung).[6] Truth cannot be reduced to individual propositions; rather, "the true is the whole".[6] Hegel takes aim at the romantic desire for "edification" (Erbaulichkeit) and for unmediated sentiment.[7]
He also condemns "formalism," a critique aimed especially at those who follow Schelling's Naturphilosophie and at Kant's inflexible categories.[7]
References
- Wikipedia, "The Phenomenology of Spirit" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Stern 2013, p. 2–3; Stern 2013, p. 2–3 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "The Phenomenology of Spirit" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Stewart 1998, p. 21; Stewart 1998, p. 21; Stewart 1998, p. 21; Stewart 1998, p. 21 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "The Phenomenology of Spirit" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Krasnoff 2008, p. 4 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "The Phenomenology of Spirit" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Stern 2013, p. 2–3; Krasnoff 2008, p. 4 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "The Phenomenology of Spirit" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Stern 2013, p. 2–3; Krasnoff 2008, p. 4; Stern 2013, p. 2–3 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "The Phenomenology of Spirit" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Davis 2023, p. 1–2; Davis 2023, p. 1–2; Davis 2023, p. 1–2 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "The Phenomenology of Spirit" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Davis 2023, p. 1–2; Davis 2023, p. 1–2 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article The Phenomenology of Spirit (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: The Phenomenology of Spirit (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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