Reading Hegel's Preface
to the Phenomenology of Spirit
Alex Steinberg
Tuesdays, 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.
7 Sessions: October 30 – December 18 (no class November 20)
Tuition: $120 - $150, sliding scale
Hegel's Preface to the Phenomenology of Spirit is a brilliant and
concise statement of his revolution in philosophy. While it was written after
he finished the Phenomenology, it stands as an introduction to his
entire system of thought and can be read as a separate piece.
A close reading of this text can provide insights into some of the most famous,
and mostly misunderstood, statements attributed to Hegel. What did Hegel mean
when he said "The True is the Whole"? What is the “Dialectic”? What
is “Spirit”? What is the “Absolute”? What is “Freedom”? What is “Alienation”?
It has been said that one cannot understand much of what has transpired in
terms of art, culture, politics or philosophy in the last 200 years without
having read Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit. For good reason, many have
considered this work to be the culmination of the Western philosophical
tradition that began in ancient
Our text will be A.V. Miller's translation of the Phenomenology of Spirit
(widely available in paperback). There is a new translation by Yirmiyahu Yovel of the Preface
with a good commentary, Hegel's Preface to the "Phenomenology of
Spirit" (Princeton University Press, 2005), which students may wish to
consult.
Alex Steinberg has taught courses on Hegel’s
Phenomenology of Spirit and Encyclopedia Logic at the New SPACE.
He is facilitator of a philosophy and literature discussion group in
This class will meet at TRS INC. Professional Suite