Stephen Houlgate - Hegel’s ’Phenomenology of Spirit’: A Reader’s Guide

Hegels Phenomenology of Spirit

Stephen Houlgate

READERS GU I DES

Readers Guides are clear, concise and accessible introductions to key texts in literature and philosophy. Each book explores the themes, context, criticism and influence of key works, providing a practical introduction to close reading, guiding students towards a thorough understanding of the text. They provide an essential, up-to-date resource, ideal for undergraduate students.

Readers Guides available:

Aristotles Nicomachean Ethics , Christopher Warne

Aristotles Politics , Judith A. Swanson

Badious Being and Event , Christopher Norris

Berkeleys Principles of Human Knowledge , Alasdair Richmond

Berkeleys Three Dialogues , Aaron Garrett

Deleuze and Guattaris Anti-Oedipus , Ian Buchanan

Deleuzes Difference and Repetition , Joe Hughes

Derridas Writing and Difference , Sarah Wood

Descartes Meditations , Richard Francks

Hegels Philosophy of Right , David Edward Rose

Heideggers Being and Time , William Blattner

Heideggers Later Writings , Lee Braver

Hobbess Leviathan , Laurie M. Johnson Bagby

Humes Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion , Andrew Pyle

Kants Critique of Aesthetic Judgement , Fiona Hughes

Kants Critique of Pure Reason , James Luchte

Kants Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals , Paul Guyer

Kierkegaards Fear and Trembling , Clare Carlisle

Lockes Second Treatise of Government , Paul Kelly

Mills On Liberty , Geoffrey Scarre

Mills Utilitarianism , Henry R. West

Nietzsches Beyond Good and Evil , Christa Davis Acampora and Keith Ansell Pearson

Nietzsches On the Genealogy of Morals , Daniel Conway

Nietzsches The Birth of Tragedy , Douglas Burnham

Platos Republic , Luke Purshouse

Platos Symposium , Thomas L. Cooksey

Rawlss A Theory of Justice , Frank Lovett

Rousseaus The Social Contract , Christopher D. Wraight

Sartres Being and Nothingness , Sebastian Gardner

Schopenhauers The World as Will and Representation , Robert L. Wicks

Spinozas Ethics , J. Thomas Cook

Wittgensteins Philosophical Investigations , Arif Ahmed

Wittgensteins Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus , Roger M. White

Forthcoming:

Deleuze and Guattaris A Thousand Plateaus , Eugene W. Holland

Deleuze and Guattaris What is Philosophy? , Rex Butler

Machiavellis The Prince , Miguel Vatter

Nietzsches Thus Spoke Zarathustra , Clancy Martin

Bloomsbury Academic

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First published 2013

Stephen Houlgate, 2013

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Stephen Houlgate has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Author of this work.

No responsibility for loss caused to any individual or organization acting on or refraining from action as a result of the material in this publication can be accepted by Bloomsbury Academic or the author.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN: HB: 978-0-8264-8510-6

e-ISBN: 978-1-4411-8085-8

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Houlgate, Stephen.

Hegels Phenomenology of spirit: a readers guide/Stephen Houlgate.

p. cm. (Readers guides)

Includes bibliographical references (p.) and index.

ISBN 978-0-8264-8510-6 (hardcover) ISBN 978-0-8264-8511-3 (pbk.) ISBN 978-1-4411-8085-8 (ebook (pdf)) ISBN 978-1-4411-3455-4 (ebook (epub))

1. Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich, 1770-1831. Phnomenologie des Geistes.

2. Spirit. 3. Consciousness. 4. Truth. I. Title.

B2929.H68 2012

193-dc23

2012012761

Typeset by Deanta Global Publishing Services, Chennai, India

The purpose of this book is to provide a guide to reading Hegels Phenomenology of Spirit . There are many fine commentaries that explore the historical background to, and philosophical relevance of, Hegels text, but this guide aims specifically to help students follow the twists and turns of that text itself. My guiding principle is that the Phenomenology sets out a single, continuous, logical argument, whose details are to be taken seriously. It has to be admitted that this argument is, at times, horribly convoluted. I have made every effort, however, to present the argument as clearly as possible, and I hope that, with the help of this book, students will be able to understand and assess it for themselves.

Due to the considerable length of the Phenomenology , it is not possible in this guide to provide a detailed account of each stage of Hegels argument. I have chosen, therefore, to give detailed accounts of the first four chapters of the book, which set out the development of consciousness and self-consciousness. These are the chapters with which most students are likely to start, and they also contain the famous analyses of sense-certainty, the master-slave relation and the unhappy consciousness. The remaining chapters on reason, spirit, religion and absolute knowing are also important and fascinating, but space is limited. My hope, therefore, is that students can learn from my account of the first four chapters to make headway in Hegels text on their own, and that they will then be able to engage with the missing details from chapters five to eight by themselves.

My aim throughout this guide has been to explain how the argument of the Phenomenology proceeds and, by implication, why it might be deemed successful. I have not, therefore, considered specific criticisms of Hegels ideas; nor, with rare exceptions, have I commented on the interpretations of other readers of Hegel. In view of this, I should like to express in this preface my gratitude to the many other readers, whose work, over the years, has helped me understand Hegels Phenomenology better. A list of some of their works is provided in the Guide to Further Reading at the end of this book.

The translation used in this Readers Guide is G. W. F. Hegel, Phenomenology of Spirit , trans. A. V. Miller (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1977). This translation is divided into 808 paragraphs, and it has become common in much English-language secondary literature on the Phenomenology to make reference to these paragraphs. I have thus followed this convention in this guide. I have also made reference to the following German edition: G. W. F. Hegel, Phnomenologie des Geistes , ed. H.-F. Wessels and H. Clairmont (Hamburg: Felix Meiner Verlag, 1988). References to the Phenomenology are thus given in this guide in the following form (with the English text first, and the German text second): 90/69. Students who read German will find Hegel easier to read and understand in the original language, and I would strongly encourage them to consult the German edition, whenever possible.

Hegel is a striking stylist and Millers translation also provides many memorable passages. There are times, however, when Millers version needs correcting. I have thus amended his translation whenever this was necessary. I have not indicated that a change has been made, unless such a change means that students can no longer find the relevant passage in the translation. In this case, a note has been added giving Millers wording. Translations of other works by Hegel have also been amended, where necessary.