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    Cover of The phenomenology of spirit

    The phenomenology of spirit

    Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel · 2009

    Perhaps one of the most revolutionary works of philosophy ever written, The Phenomenology of Spirit is Hegel's 1807 work that is in numerous ways extraordinary. It begins with a Preface, written after the rest of the manuscript was completed, that explains the core of his method and what sets it apart from any preceding philosophy. The Introduction, written before the rest of the work, summarizes and completes Kant's ideas on skepticism by rendering it moot and encouraging idealism and self-realization. The body of the work is divided into six sections of varying length, entitled Consciousness, Self-Consciousness, Reason, Spirit, Religion, and Absolute Knowledge. A myriad of topics are discussed, and explained in such a harmoniously complex way that the method has been termed Hegelian dialectic. Ultimately, the work as a whole is a remarkable study of the mind's growth from its direct awareness to scientific philosophy, proving to be a difficult yet highly influential and enduring work.

    Philosophy
    Open LibraryAmazon
    Stats for nerds
    7recommend
    32mentions
    29people
    2007–2026years
    22% recommend66% neutral13% critical

    Mentions per year

    20072009201120132015201720192021202320252026

    What Hacker News says

    1. beedeebeedeeMar 2026
      > Hegel is irrelevant in the age of measurement

      That’s bs. Even just the preface to Phenomenology of Spirit is chock full of ideas that folks would be better off if they contemplated. Hegel can be considered a visual thinker (or visionary) whose ideas don’t need “measurement”. If folks understand his thoughts on the master-slave dialectic, for example, they would have an idea as to why we have such incompetent leaders like trump. His thought suffers from the same problem of any thinker who tried to be systematic, but it is still worth being inspired by.

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    2. DiscourseFanOct 2024
      Its certainly interesting, though the language its couched in wouldn't be found in any philosophical discussion on time. This is all to say that it deals with concepts that have been discussed in philosophy for a long time, and these insights wouldn't be considered "new" to someone from say mid-19th century Prussia. Certainly the "progressive unfolding of the truth," in qualitatively different steps which Wolfram adopts here as his concept of time is no different from Hegel's concept of time and the movement of history. I would recommend, for anyone interested in this sort of thing, to just read the "Preface" to his Phenomenology of Spirit.[0]

      [0]https://files.libcom.org/files/Georg%20Wilhelm%20Friedrich%2...

      thread
    3. happycamper22Oct 2023
      I ran this thread through GPT-4 to extract mentions and summarize them in markdown. Sharing if it's helpful for others too.

      * "Manufacturing Consent" by Chomsky and Herman (2 mentions) * Summary: This book investigates and criticizes the media's role in promoting and sustaining powerful interests. Chomsky frames the media as a system that safeguards the power of the elite by shaping public opinion.

      * "On Palestine" by Chomsky (1 mention) * Summary: This book offers an insightful view of one of the most enduring and intractable conflicts of our time. Chomsky explores the historical origins, developments, and politics surrounding the Israel-Palestine conflict.

      * "Requiem for the American Dream" by Noam Chomsky (1 mention) * Summary: This book discusses the concentration of wealth in the hands of the few and its effects on democracy in America. It highlights the decline of the middle class and the widening wealth gap.

      * "The Design of Everyday Things" by Don Norman (2 mentions) * Summary: The book details the science behind our interaction with everyday items. It scrutinizes the design process and explores the relationship between users and the products they use, urging designers to think deeply about how their designs influence user behavior.

      * "The Better Angels of Our Nature" by Steven Pinker (1 mention) * Summary: This book challenges the belief that society is becoming increasingly violent, arguing instead that violence has declined over historical time periods. It explores the psychological and societal mechanisms that have led to this decrease.

      * "Factfulness" by Hans Rosling (1 mention) * Summary: Factfulness emphasizes a more optimistic view of global human progress. It challenges the notion that the world is worse off today than it was in the past by providing facts and statistics that argue the contrary.

      * "Phenomenology of Spirit" by Hegel (1 mention) * Summary: This is a central work of German philosophy in which Hegel explores the concept of 'spirit'. He examines the relationship between consciousness and its objects, eventually leading to a discussion about the nature of freedom and the unfolding of history.

      * "The Righteous Mind" by Jonathan Haidt (2 mentions) * Summary: The book delves into the world of moral psychology and its impact on politics and religion. Haidt proposes that morality is not a product of rational thought but is driven by intuitive reactions, challenging conventional understandings of morality.

      * "How To Build A Car" (1 mention, author not specified) * Summary: The book offers a captivating analysis of Formula 1 car design and the precision engineering involved in creating these high-performance vehicles. It provides insights into the processes followed by a renowned designer.

      * "Factfulness" (1 mention, author not specified) * Summary: Factfulness emphasizes a more optimistic view of global human progress. It challenges notions that the world is getting worse by presenting an array of facts that argue the contrary.

      * "Strunk and White The Elements of Style" (1 mention, author not specified) * Summary: A guide to English language usage and writing style that covers topics such as conciseness, clarity, and simplicity of expression. It is considered a seminal work on English composition and is widely used in American English writing.

      * "Gödel, Escher, Bach" (1 mention, author not specified) * Summary: This book explores the concept of how symbols, patterns and loops manifest in the fields of mathematics, art and music. It also discusses aspects of cognition and consciousness and how our minds perceive and understand the world.

      thread
    4. efficaxApr 2020
      I’d suggest Kojeve’s Introduction to the Reading of Hegel (a classic expository work on the Phenomenology of Spirit)
      thread
    5. nathiasFeb 2019
      Plato - Meno, Symposium, Parmenides, Gorgias, Protagoras

      Plotinus -Enneads

      Markus Aurelius - Meditations

      Descartes - On method

      Descartes - Meditations

      Spinoza - On the improvement of Understanding

      Leibniz - Monadology

      Leibniz - Grace

      Voltaire - Candid

      Diderot - D'Alembert's Dream

      Kant - How to orient oneself in thinking

      Kant - Critique of Pure Reason

      Kant - Critique of Judgment

      Hegel - Phenomenology of Spirit

      Hegel - Logic

      von Kleist - Marionette Theatre

      Kierkegaard - The Sickness Unto Death

      Heidegger - Being and Time

      Sartre - Being and Nothingness

      Sartre - Flies

      Sartre - Nausea

      Deleuze - Difference and Repetition

      Kafka - Metamorphosis

      Kafka - The Castle

      Lem - Magellan Nebula

      Lem - His Master's Voice

      Cioran - A Short History of Decay

      Pessoa - Book Of Despair

      Wolfe - New Sun tetralogy

      thread
    6. vippySep 2017
      Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit. Kant's Critique of Pure Reason. Hofstadter's Godel, Escher, Bach. I also recommend Zizek's The Sublime Object of Ideology, but it's dense, so his film The Pervert's Guide to Ideology is a good stand in.
      thread

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