The Unity of Hegel's "Phenomenology of Spirit": A Systematic Interpretation (Studies in Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy)

I do not typically write reviews, but I found this book so helpful that I just wanted to let others know about it. I have read about 7 books on Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit (PoS), and this is hands down the best. This book does exactly what it says. It helps the reader understand the structure of the PoS. It makes sense of how the themes in the sense certainty, perception, and force and understanding sections repeat in the self-consciousness and reason sections. Further it spells out what Hegel means by spirit, etc. The author basically makes clear how Hegel is concerned with many subject-object notions that Hegel then subjects to internal critique and exposes the lack each has. Typically the lack in each notion is a failure of determinacy or necessity, yet each critique or failure points the way for the reader of the PoS to the next notion. My brief account here is very abstract, but the author does a great job filling all this in and making it quite easy to follow. I will say that you will likely get more our of this book if you have already tried to make sense of the PoS. But, for me this book not only made Hegel's project clear and understandable, but it also made it actually thought provoking and something I think about when I am not reading. This is the first time that Hegel's thought seemed more than a sexy mystery, a puzzle, or a curiosity. Hegel has lots of hype. This book has helped me understand some of the reasons why.

Finally a book on Hegel written for the general reader. That does not mean it is easy or a quick read. It does mean that if studied and read slowly and reviewed frequently , Hegel starts to make sense. Unlike most secondary sources which are often as dense and opaque as the material it purports to explain, the author's stated purpose was to make Hegel understood. Has excellent summary chapter flow charts .

This book is great if you want to follow all of Phenomenology step-by-step and get clarification on Hegel's dense language. The author's thesis is that Phenomenology follows a strict process of a three-part dialectical movement in all of its sections, starting from common sense and ending at absolute knowledge. I believe this is an admirable approach, for it seems pretty clear when reading Hegel, that he is following some sort of structure, just that it is sometimes hard to figure out what that structure is. Phenomenology is definitely one of the most challenging works of the entire Hegelian corpus, probably due to it being written relatively early as well as the volume and complexity of the material Hegel wanted to relay. Since without understanding Phenomenology one cannot hope to accomplish any kind of complete understanding of Hegel, an enlightening guide through its jungle becomes crucial. I believe this book is such guide.My only complaint (if I can call it that) against this book is that it is following its thesis at times too closely. Sometimes even the author has to admit that there is little support for his interpretation in Hegel himself. Seems like Hegelian thought at times soared above the simple three-part moving system and the author was unwilling to follow it there, reluctant to abandon his own construct.Apart from that, I think this book is a great aid for those trying to make sense of Phenomenology and advance their understanding of Hegel.