Hegel: Philosophy of Mind (Hegel's Encyclopedia of the Philosophical Sciences) [Paperback]

William Wallace (Translator), A. V. Miller (Translator)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0198750145 | ISBN-13: 978-0198750147 | Publication Date: March 15, 1971

The present reissue of Wallace's translation of Hegel's Philosophy of Mind includes the Zusatze or lecture-notes which, in the collected works, accompany the first section entitled "Subjective Mind" and which Wallace omitted from his translation. Professor J. N. Findlay has written a Foreword and this replaces Wallace's introductory essays.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Michael Inwood's major revision of the Wallace and Miller translation oh Hegel's Philosophy of Mind is a welcome addition to the English-language Hegel library.... Inwood has provided a much-improved translation of an absolutely central text, along with a helpful set of notes that provide a fine starting-point for genuine historical and contemporary engagement with one of Hegel's most rewarding works."--Sebastian Rand, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Language Notes

Text: English, German (translation) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 342 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (March 15, 1971)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198750145
• ISBN-13: 978-0198750147
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #397,074 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Development of Absolute Spirit, June 15, 2000

By 

M. Dentith (Auckland, New Zealand) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hegel: Philosophy of Mind (Hegel's Encyclopedia of the Philosophical Sciences) (Paperback)

G.W.F. Hegel is surely one of the most notable figures in German Philosophy. His 'Philosophy of Mind' (also known as 'The Philosophy of Spirit') is the third part of an encyclopaedia work showing, in essence, the dialectical 'nature' of the world as a Notion. In his earlier works in this triad (The 'Logic' and 'The Philosophy of Nature') Hegel dealt with, first, the logically necessary principle of explanation for the world and then, secondly, the essence of nature as prior to the development of the Mind. This work deals with the nature of Mind as it goes from subjectivity to objectivity through the stages Anthropological, Phenomenological and Psychological, producing Absolute Spirit, a notion that is then used by Hegel to explain the moral and legal. This is not an easier book to read; the language is convoluted and it may take several readings to gleam anything useful from it. This is partially due to the difficulty of translating German terms to the English and also partially due to the writing style of Hegel himself. However I do recommend that the reader persevere, as it is a very rewarding book to read. You need not agree entirely with what Hegel says to appreciate his philosophy and see the import of what he is trying to do; explain everything from a position of logical necessity. The accompanying Zusatz is also of great use, as it gives more concrete examples used in the actual lectures Hegel based this work upon. All in all, a momentuous book in the history of Philosophy itself and worth reading for the depth and breadth of ideas contained within it.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars This is awful, October 5, 2010

By 

Julia A. Feder - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hegel's Philosophy of Mind (Paperback)

This is an edition of the book translated by a robot, so there are multiple typos and unclear section divisions. You can barely read it!

10 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not for the casual reader., December 27, 2001

By 

[e-mail] (Hilo, Hawaii, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hegel's Philosophy of Mind (Hardcover)

This work is seminal. Every philosophy after Hegel is either a reaction to him or a footnote. His method has achieved scientific verification in the past century in the areas of developmental psychology (Margaret Mahler), in historicism, in embryological development, and theology (Tillich). It shows that wisdom is timeless and although written 200 years ago, Hegel's truth is valid and not subject to fashions as they so often are in philosophy.

This said, I have to say it is not rewarding to read this book unless you have familiarity with German idealism through Kant. Also, a thorough reading of Hegel's Logic is a prerequiste. Few people will understand this book without reading it in the original German as Hegel himself reframes the German language into a new way of thinking. I think all great philosophies shape the language they speak in profound ways. That is why it is so difficult to understand Hegel in English translation. You would have to create a whole new philosophy along Hegelian lines made for the English thinker. This is the daunting task of all translators. There obviously are concepts in Western thought that are portable across "platforms" and this is why translating Hegel happens at all in English. However the way concepts are used, the "process" of the concepts -- the "syntagms" -- is not entirely the same in both languages.

I wrote my master's thesis in philosophy on this work. At that time I could think Hegelian with the best of them but have lost the skill. Now I can't even understand what I wrote 20 years after the fact without going back to school. I have not been speaking Hegelian since then. A pity.

So, to get the most out of it, read this book in a structured environment where one has easy access to help. It will change your life as it has mine.