Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
German idealist philosopher whose dialectical system of history and Spirit profoundly influenced Marx, existentialism, and 20th-century continental philosophy. The Phenomenology of Spirit traces consciousness's development toward Absolute Knowledge through contradictions and syntheses. His system is notoriously difficult but enormously influential.
Works
- Phenomenology of SpiritDialectical history of consciousness achieving self-awareness through rational struggle
- Science of LogicSystematic logic of being and essence describing reality's rational structure
- Elements of the Philosophy of RightTheory of law, ethics, and state arising from freedom and rationality
- Encyclopedia of the Philosophical SciencesComprehensive system of philosophy covering logic, nature, and mind
- Lectures on the History of PhilosophyHistorical survey of Western philosophy from pre-Socratics through Descartes
- Philosophy of RightSystematic account of law, rights, morality, and rational state governance
- Encyclopaedia of the Philosophical SciencesComprehensive system integrating logic, philosophy of nature, and philosophy of mind