Hegel: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)

Hegel: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)
Peter Singer | 2001-12-06 00:00:00 | Oxford University Press, USA | 152 | Philosophy
Hegel is regarded as one of the most influential figures on modern political and intellectual development. After painting Hegel's life and times in broad strokes, Peter Singer goes on to tackle some of the more challenging aspects of Hegel's philosophy. Offering a broad discussion of Hegel's ideas and an account of his major works, Singer explains what have often been considered abstruse and obscure ideas in a clear and inviting manner.
Reviews
Peter Singer is a world class philosopher and moral theorists, albeit one whose main works I find unconvincing. Nor do I regularly read Oxford's "Very Short Introduction" series. But I really enjoyed Singer's short book on Karl Marx (Marx (A Brief Insight)), which is the best overview I know of the thoughts of Das Kapital's author. I may disagree with Singer's philosophy, but he is a clear thinker and talented writer.



Unfortunately, Singer's book on Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770-1831) while still well written, is less lucid than his book on Marx. This is mostly due to the difference between the philosophies of Hegel and his those of his later day disciple: Marx's ideas were frequently wrong, often bizarre, and sometimes naïve, but they were, mostly at least, intelligible. Despite Singer's great efforts, most of Hegel's writing remains utterly mysterious, a blur of surreal concepts about the destinies of such ill defined entities as Geist, and concepts (such as 'Freedom') taken far from their regular usage.



Freedom, for example, does not mean the ability to do as you please. Since what you please is conditioned on your genetic makeup and upbringing, it is not 'you' who chooses. Your choice is only free if you cleanse yourself of all these influences and follow only the dictates of pure reason. But this bizarre concept of Freedom is not all that Hegel meant by Freedom. Freedom is also an element of the human condition that is developed throughout history; It is the condition of a society organized along rational principle. Such utopian society is the (or one of the) goals of history (why would anyone think that history has goals is never satisfactory explained), and so Hegel's "Philosophy of History" is a phantasmagorical historical account of various civilizations which purports to show how freedom evolved through the ages until it reaches its pinnacle in the Prussian state. Or, to be entirely fair to Hegel, in a somewhat more liberal version of the Prussian state.



As far as I can tell, Hegel gave no arguments for believing in any of his wild theories. He could sometimes make vaguely plausible critiques of the wild theories of his predecessors, but never marshal any positive evidence for any of his own. His theories are not only wild, they are also Delphic in their meaning; Singer repeatedly admits that he can't make sense of Hegel's work.



And yet, despite his opacity and evidence free fantasizing, or maybe because of them, one can almost find parts and passages of Hegel that are enlightening or interesting. I strongly suspect that these passages are interesting because blurry - they are like abstract art, their meaning is in the eye of the beholder. So unlike Marx's philosophy, Hegel's might mean something because it is meaningless.



On the other hand, Hegel's concept of the "dialectical method" - that ideas come in the form of thesis-antithesis-synthesis, is interesting and worthwhile. Obviously not all ideas develop in this form, and sometimes ideas are presented as a synthesis of previous ideas to make them seem moderate and considered, but the dynamic is apparent.



Singer's book about Hegel is less satisfying than his book on Marx also because Singer doesn't engage as much with Hegel's ideas; He does defend Hegel from the criticism leveled against him by Karl Popper (although he doesn't whitewash him as a previous reviewer implied), he criticizes a few of Hegel's wilder ideas and talks a little about his successors, particularly, of course, Marx. But Singer never tries to assess or contextualize what is still worthwhile of Hegel's thought. He settles for clearing the fog around Hegel's ideas, and paradoxically risks eliminating the only thing that gives them meaning.
Reviews
My interest i Hegel, which isn't great, is more an interest in Marx. Hegel is not a favorite, but to understand Karl it may be necessary to understand Georg. I grew up on Hegel and Marx. My father was a far left winger who was crushed by the failure of Communism and the unending life of the church. If my mother hadn't forbidden it my first words would have been "Religion is the opiate of the people." You understandably have no interest in my family--very dull indeed--so on to our study for this day. Where does this book fit in the study of philosophy or history for that matter.



We can't cover every aspect of Hegel's thought here, not am I able to, so let's pick on Religion. "Orthodox religion is . . . a brrier to the goal of restoring man to a state of harmony, for it makes man subordinate his own powers of thought to an external authority (page 9)." Hegel was according to our author an adherent to the Lutheran religion. He has been mistaken as a humanist in religion, but it is too simple a designation for a certainly complex man.



A person who thinks cannot be fitted into an easy mold. Hegel is no different. We as humans like our heroes and villains to be all of one or another thing, it makes life so much simpler, as the saying "ignorance is bliss" and thinking is hell. If you are a thinking person welcome to HELL.
Reviews
Given the space restrictions, I doubt that many people would be able to explain Hegel's thought in more than a simplistic fashion. I bought the book to see what Singer has to say about Hegel, and in that department I would have liked more commentary. As it stands, it's just a very simple intro to Hegel, one perhaps aimed at beginners.




Reviews
The VSI series has produced some terrific introductions (notably, Scruton's Kant) but this falls well short. Of course, Hegel's density and obscurity present some unique challenges but Singer's exegesis it extremely flat. Unfortunately, I can't recommend a nice, short introduction to Hegel. As far as I know, no one has yet accomplished this difficult task. However, for those with some philosophy background, I would highly recommend Justus Hartnack's "An Introduction to Hegel's Logic." Because its object is Hegel's Logic, you won't find much discussion of the Phenomenology or his work on history. However, in a brilliantly concise 124 pages, Hartnack concisely digests and summarizes Hegel's most difficult work. It's really helpful for understanding how the dialectic works.
Reviews
This is about the fifth of the Very Short Introduction series I read. Although I didn't know much about Hegel's works before reading this book, I feel that the author does a good job introducing "Hegel" in a well-balanced, well-rounded way, in that he talks about how Hegel fits into the historical context and about other historical figures who influenced him and who he influenced.



It was helpful for me that the author introduced the "dialectical method" that you hear so often about, in a clear, concise way. Apparently, the author doesn't cover all of Hegel's major works, but overall he does a good job getting the reader interested in Hegel's works enough that he would look into Hegel's works in more detail on subjects that interest him.

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