Hegel on History, Politics and Philosophy

This collection reviews Hegel in relation to the key themes of history, politics and philosophy. It shows how Hegel is a historical thinker, whose theories are developed via a philosophical consideration of historical development at a number of levels. Hegel’s expertise in the history of philosophy leads him to recognize the distinctiveness of the present, while building upon philosophical predecessors. This focus on history is particularly valuable in this volume. This perspective sheds light on Hegel’s distinctive reading of the political, which is both insightful and timely. Hegel’s reading of political economy emerges out of Hegel’s conception of modernity and remains relevant to contemporary conceptions of civil society. Likewise Hegel’s focus upon the international remains of great moment in that he shows the interplay between internal and external forms of sovereignty. Hegel’s global perspective on international politics remains of relevance today and it bears upon his understanding of internal state sovereignty and history. This volume ends with a synoptic reading of Hegel today, which reviews Hegel critically in the light of his problematic reading of race, sex and his Eurocentrism. The essays in this volume reflect Gary Browning’s engagement with Hegel over a number of years, and, collectively, they show how Hegel’s political theory is linked to his reading of history and philosophy, and they make a case for the continued relevance of Hegel’s political and international theory.

.- 1. Introduction.

.- 2. The Night in Which All Cows are Black: Ethical Absolutism in Hegel and Plato.

.- 3. The Politics of Recognition: Life and Death Struggles in Hobbes and Hegel.

.- 4. Infinity in Hegel and Marx.

.- 5. Hegel and Political Economy.

.- 6. Hegel on War, Recognition and Justice.

.- 7. Hegel Global Theory and Recognition.

.- 8. Grand Narratives Revisited.

.- 9. Why Hegel?.

Gary Browning is Professor of Politics at Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, United Kingdom. He is the author many books, notably Hegel and the History of Political Philosophy (1999), Plato and Hegel: Two Modes of Philosophising about Politics (2012), Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit: A Reappraisal (ed) (1997), Iris Murdoch and the Political (2024), A History of Modern Political Thought: The Question of Interpretation (2016)