How Do You Understand The Philosophy Of Hegel?
• Be patient. Hegel is widely considered to be one of the most cryptic writers in philosophy, so don’t expect it to be easy. He has often been criticized for his difficult language. • Make sure you have at least basic knowledge of modern philosophy (that is, starting with Descartes). If you are reading one of Hegel’s works, you have to have advanced philosophical knowledge in Western philosophy. • Temporarily abandon traditional logic. Hegel reasons dialectically, while we normally use Aristotelian logic. For instance, Hegel postulates the identity of identity and non-identity (alas, he rejects the law of contradiction). This is counter-intuitive and requires special attention. If you understand dialectics, you have come a long way. • Sketch the triads. Hegel loved to divide his works in three parts (the three dialectical moments) which in turn often were divided into three other parts, and so on. To memorize these structures, draw triangles or a tree that connect the dialectical momen
