[(Hegel's 'Phenomenology of Spirit': A Reader's Guide)] [Author: Stephen Houlgate] published on

by Stephen Houlgate

Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit is probably his most famous work. First published in 1807, it has exercised considerable influence on subsequent thinkers from Feuerbach and Marx to Heidegger, Kojève, Adorno and Derrida. The book contains many memorable analyses of, for example, the master / slave dialectic, the unhappy consciousness, Sophocles' Antigone and the French Revolution and is one of the most important works in the Western philosophical tradition. It is, however, a difficult and challenging book and needs to be studied together with a clear and accessible secondary text. Stephen Houlgate's Reader's Guide offers guidance on: Philosophical and historical context
Key themes
Reading the textReception and influence
Further reading

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Ebooks

Paperback

First published November 8, 2012

About the author

Stephen Houlgate (PhD University of Cambridge) is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Warwick.

Houlgate's "interpretation of Hegel's logic and his philosophy more generally continues to be guided by his claim that speculative thought develops immanently and without systematic presuppositions." He "thus contest[s] Heidegger's assertion that Hegel thinks ‘in accordance with a predetermined idea of being’ (an assertion endorsed by Derrida and Deleuze, amongst others)."

Reviews

[Vapula · Rating 3 out of 5]

Could definitely be more thorough towards the end, but all around Houlgate still explains things with great clarity and self-awareness. Additionally, as he does with his other books on Hegel, he helpfully points out and faithfully explains what he sees to be misreadings on particular concepts. One further thing I'm not so sure about is how heavily Houlgate looks to separate phenomenology from philosophy, i.e. the PoS from the Science of Logic.

[Jana Light · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essential "companion" reading to Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit. Clear summaries, good (though brief) overview of some critical disagreements, and a solid list of secondary sources. A must for reading with Kojev and Hyppolite, as well, for its easy summary and following of the original text. I am so grateful to have found this book early in my PhOS reading.

[Nick121235]

I didn't actually finish this. Houlgate's conception of Phenomenology is, I think, completely wrong. The guy is a lot smarter than me but his interpretation is essentially that Hegel is rational thinker (as in enlightenment rationality) and he wasn't, he was a German idealist. The reading of Hegel is just wrong and I can't get through it.

[Peter Owens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. Clear, concise, and really elucidated what is a tremendously dense, difficult to understand text.

[Georgi Boychev · Rating 4 out of 5]

A concise breakdown of all the themes and main lines of reasoning in the different sections of the Phenomenology, with a very useful bibliography provided. Houlgate is a close reader of Hegel who treats the Phenomenology based on what the text itself states its purpose is - to lead unphilosophical (pre-Hegelian) consciousness to the standpoint of philosophy (as Hegel and Houlgate understand it) from which point on the project of the second major work of Hegel, the Science of Logic, can be launched. For my money, this little commentary is one of the best out there, and was especially useful in going through the often way too rapid and too convoluted world-historical movements made in the Spirit and Religion chapters of the book.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Een goed begin is het halve werk. Meer dan een goede inleiding, wat zeker zal helpen met de zware arbeid dat het lezen van de fenomenologie ongetwijfeld zal zijn. Soms wat kortaf, maar het is ook een lees gids en geen commentaar.

[Seyed · Rating 2 out of 5]

A reader's guide that fails to navigate the difficult language of Hegel but instead adopts it in a manner that merely adds the complexity of Houlgate's interpretation to the PoS.

[arbuz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, it is sometimes just not clear enough.

[Abhiraj · Rating 5 out of 5]

A clear and helpful chapter wise introduction to the Phenomenology. Really helped me understand the tortuous writing of Hegel. Highly recommended.

[Asher · Rating 5 out of 5]

First half was indispensable

[Hunter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very helpful in the early stages (through Self-Consciousness), less useful later on as it becomes more summary and brisk.

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Original text and the analysis by J.N. Findlay was more helpful.