Product Description

In this magisterial and lucid introduction, Beiser covers every major aspect of Hegel's thought. Placing him in the historical context of nineteenth century Germany, the author clarifies the deep insights and originality of Hegel's philosophy.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #112348 in Books
• Published on: 2005-04-19
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 364 pages

Publisher
‘An impressive achievement. I have no doubt students will find it very useful.' Robert Stern, University of Sheffield

Review
'An impressive achievement - I have no doubt students will find it very useful, and that it will be widely adopted as a teaching text: it is written in a clear and accessible manner; it covers the right topics to the right level; it engages with a wide range of Hegel's works; it is critical, while also being sympathetic; and it deals authoritatively with various matters of scholarship.' - Robert Stern, University of Sheffield

'The best available account in the English language of the whole sweep of Hegel's philosophy. It will be a valuable resource for students encountering Hegel for the first time. It also makes a significant and important contribution to the interpretation and discussion of Hegel's philosophy.' - Sean Sayers, University of Kent

'A very clear introduction - its greatest strengths consist in its clarity and its ability to contextualize Hegel's philosophy ... masterfully done ... the presentation is clear and engaging.'
- Paul Redding, University of Sydney

'Beiser ... wants to provide not so much exegesis as a comprehensive overview aimed primarily at the first-time reader. The result is in my judgment little short of a triumph. In 350 pages Beiser manages to suggest much of the sweep and challenge of Hegel's thought, in direct and straightforward prose, yet without shirking the procedural difficulties of Hegel's arguments and positions. ' - Martin Donougho, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

'An impressive achievement - I have no doubt students will find it very useful, and that it will be widely adopted as a teaching text: it is written in a clear and accessible manner; it covers the right topics to the right level; it engages with a wide range of Hegel's works; it is critical, while also being sympathetic; and it deals authoritatively with various matters of scholarship.' - Robert Stern, University of Sheffield

'The best available account in the English language of the whole sweep of Hegel's philosophy. It will be a valuable resource for students encountering Hegel for the first time. It also makes a significant and important contribution to the interpretation and discussion of Hegel's philosophy.' - Sean Sayers, University of Kent

'A very clear introduction - its greatest strengths consist in its clarity and its ability to contextualize Hegel's philosophy ... masterfully done ... the presentation is clear and engaging.'
- Paul Redding, University of Sydney

Publisher
‘Masterfully done; the presentation is clear and engaging.’ Paul Redding, University of Sydney, Australia

Customer Reviews

An excellent introduction to Hegel
Beiser's "Hegel" provides a highly accessible and readable introduction to one of the most notoriously difficult thinkers of all time. The book covers an extraordinary range of subjects including Hegel's metaphysics, political philosophy, aesthetics and philosophy of religion. Furthermore, it does a superb job at situating such topics within their intellectual and historical context.
Beiser treads a path between "inflationary" and "deflationary" accounts of Hegel. Whilst the former tend to treat Hegel as a anachronistic metaphysician, the latter attempt to "do Hegel without the Metaphysics" - a tendency which Beiser thinks not only makes Hegel quite uninteresting but also begs more questions that it thinks it resolves. Beiser sees a Hegel as a product of his times but sees the sort of problems he is engaged with (e.g. the relationship between individual and community or the impossibility of entirely extirpating metaphysical questions) as having an enduring relevance.
Beiser's specialism as a scholar of German romanticism shines through in the book, drawing out many continuities between Hegel and the romantics - particularly in terms of Hegel’s organicism and naturphilosophie. Likewise, the lengthy discussion of Hegel's early theological writings provides a great deal of fresh insight into his thought and its evolution. As such, the work is of interest not only to those approaching Hegel for the first time, but also to Hegel specialists and is highly recommended.

first class introduction
I'm a bit ashamed to say that but this book was quite exciting!
I had no previous knowledge of Hegel's philosophy (apart from the good old "thesis, antithesis, synthesis" which, by the way, turned out to be, at best, a oversimplification), yet Beiser clear writing style and historical approach does perfectly the trick.

Each chapter is written as an inquiry of the successive critical appraisal of Hegel's philosophy, and Beiser first demonstrate why they are innacurate or incomplete in order for you to have a good grasp of his own thesis on the matter.

Beiser manages to defend Hegel on some important points but does not hesitates to emphasise some weak points in Hegel system.

However, I would advise the reader to read a bit about Kant before starting to read this book, since Hegel deals with him a lot. I did not have this problem since I had just finished Wood's excellent introduction but I regretted not to have known a bit more about Aristotle and Spinoza. Beiser does explain what you need to know satisfactorily but I felt I could have got more out of it.