Hegel’s Preface to the ‘Phenomenology’

(ends on December 13)

This eight-session course with Alex Steinberg concludes our ongoing studies of Hegel’s mysterious work, The Phenomenology of Spirit. We will do a close reading of the Preface to the Phenomenology of Spirit, a work that can be read on its own and is considered the most succinct and comprehensive statement of Hegel’s philosophy.

These sessions introduce what is living in Hegel for those who want to change the world. No prior experience with Hegel or attendance at previous classes is expected or required. Our goal is to make Hegel’s dialectic less mysterious as we go along and try to tease out the revolutionary implications in his thought and its significance for our time.

There are 3 acceptable translations of the Phenomenology of Spirit available:
One by A.V. Miller published by Oxford University Press, another by Terry Pinkard from Cambridge University Press, and another translation that includes only the Preface, by Yirmiyahu Yovel from Princeton University Press with a detailed commentary.

Alex Steinberg is an independent scholar. He has taught on topics such as the Philosophy of Heidegger and Nazism, Marxism and Humanism, and Hegel’s Philosophy of History at various alternative educational institutions and informally. He was a Conference Presenter at the First International Conference on Trotsky in Havana, Cuba. Alex has been also involved with the governance of WBAI radio in New York and its parent organization, Pacifica, most recently as the Chair of the Pacifica National Board from 2019-2021.