Peter Singer

Many people regard Hegel's work as obscure and extremely difficult, yet his importance and influence are universally acknowledged. Peter Singer eliminates any excuse for remaining ignorant of the outlines of Hegel's philosophy by providing a broad discussion of his ideas and an account of his major works.

Hegel: A Very Short Introduction

Simon Elliott Stegall

I'm not a fan of Singer's thought, but that doesn't mean he's not a smart guy. This is a succinct and clear guide to Hegel's thought that almost fooled me into thinking I could read Hegel myself. Singer does a great job of showing the multiple interpretations of Hegel's ideas, while sticking to the common thread that ties them together.

According to Singer, Hegel's main idea was that the universe (and more specifically, humanity) is constantly progressing through different stages of understanding--not scientific understanding, per se, but a philosophical understanding. The highest form of understanding is when the "mind" (the mind of the universe, aka the combined mind of humanity) comes to understand itself. Religion, art, and most of all, philosophy, are all human movements in which the "mind" engenders itself in order to comprehend itself. But this self-comprehension can only be achieved, Hegel argues, through logic, reasoning, and dialectics. Thus, his famous work, Phenomenology of the Mind. 

Hegel was reacting against Kant and his ideas about the possibility of apprehending reality, and one can see how the Existentialists reacted similarly against Hegel's thought. Kierkegaard used his idea of dialectics, but rejected the notion that ultimate comprehension can come through reason alone. I think I side more with Kierkegaard, but that doesn't change the fact that Hegel obviously had a brilliant and dizzying intellect which all subsequent philosophers (especially Kierkegaard) were heavily influenced by. 

I went ahead and bought The Phenomenology of Mind for (it occurs to me now) not really any good reason. Maybe I'll have the guts to pick it up one day.

Hegel: A Very Short Introduction

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