Lectures on the Philosophy of History

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Lectures on the Philosophy of History (also translated as Lectures on the Philosophy of World History) is the title of a major work by Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. It was originally published in 1837 by the editor Eduard Gans, six years after Hegel's death, utilizing Hegel's own lecture notes as well as those found that were written by his students. A second edition was compiled by Hegel's son, Karl, in 1840. A third edition, edited by Georg Lasson, was published in 1917. ^[1]

The popular Hegelian theme of thesis, antithesis, and synthesis is discussed. Much of the work is spent defining and characterizing the Geist. The Geist is similar to the culture of people, and is constantly reworking itself to keep up with the changes of society. Another important theme of the text is that of world history, contrary to regional or state history, as a focus, showing the expanded nature of the times.

An English translation was written by Robert S. Hartman in 1953 which included an introduction and additional editorial footnotes. Hartman's version is now re-published by Prentice-Hall (1997) under the Library of Liberal Arts series.

[edit] References

1. ^ Hartman, Robert S. (Ed.) (1953). Reason in History, A General Introduction to the Philosophy of History (in English). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, pp. xli-xlii. ISBN 0-02-351320-9, LCCN 53004476.