The Whereabouts of Freedom
The Phenomenology of Spirit, written in 1807 by G.W. Hegel while teaching at the University of Jena, is the philosopher's most celebrated work. It has had a strong influence upon very many noted thinkers, in particular on Karl Marx in his development of historical materialism.
Since its introduction into France in the beginning of the 20th century, it has exerted considerable influence upon, among others, George Bataille, J.P. Sartre, Jacque Lacan, and Merleau Ponty. Indeed, if one were to name the five most important books of European philosophy, Hegel's study would deservedly be included in that list. Despite its significance, however, few philosophical books have been as elusive in their true message as Hegel's, as his rather idiosyncratic style and use of language is painfully opaque, even more so than other difficult philosophers such as Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger.
Hegel is so abstruse, for most of his readers even the central issue he tackles remains obscure. Hegel's text is essentially a study of consciousness and freedom. ‘Consciousness’ is (rather fancifully) imagined as an adolescent, undergoing a series of experiences as it (‘he’) attains maturity.
Into this account are woven diverse human philosophical concerns (reflections on nature, on self and others, on community, on God or gods, and so on) to provide what Hegel claims to be nothing short of a complete history of the human mind.
In Hegel's expression, 'the history of the world is none other than the progress of the consciousness of freedom'. Hegel's hugely ambitious book offers us numerous intriguing episodes. To begin with, he describes how two people fight each other, each seeking to coerce the other to recognize the first as superior.
The winner of this potentially lethal struggle for one-sided recognition becomes a master or lord, and the loser a slave. This, Hegel argues, is the beginning of human history. We need existentially to have self-worth and to take pride in ourselves; yet this need requires us absolutely to seek a recognition and confirmation of this personal sense of self-worth by others.
Some of us (perhaps immaturely) may find this exact concern absurd, whereas in others it drives the ambition that is realized in romantic love, in rebellion, and in literature and art. One's view of Hegel's book is often formed in this fundamental way by the personality of the reader: is he writing about someone I recognize as myself or about someone I have heard of. As a writer and a thinker, Hegel appeals to each of us differently, which is part of his genius.
In this regard, one is reminded of Merleau-Ponty's remark that his book is quite as exciting as an exquisite novel.Intriguing as this issue of self-worth might be, it is not what most deeply concerns Hegel, whose real inquiry is only rarely appreciated. What this is, is implicit only in his full account; as while philosophical writings usually describe in their prefatory material the essence of the themes discussed, there is in Hegel no such concision.
He simply begins with the manifestation of 'the experience of consciousness'. What Hegel sought to question may probably be understood only by thoroughly reading the text up to the end of the book. It is accordingly a most burdensome book! Even so, we believe the task is worthwhile.
The present commentary is intended to simplify the task of reading and understanding Hegel’s convolute text, and to direct the reader to the core of his arguments; indeed, we are so bold as to suggest that, without such direction, the sense of the book is for most readers almost impossible to grasp.
