By Gene Ogorodov
Hegel's Phenomenology of the Spirit ranks as one of the most influential philosophical works. His mark upon the evolution of human thought was the rise and prominence of Historicism. From Aristotle to Kant philosophy depended primarily (if not at times exclusively) upon a priori conclusions, Hegel gave a posteriori arguments an equal footing in philosophical debate. The mind ceased to be an all encompassing perfectly independent organ examining itself as it was for Descartes and Kant but an evolving creature maturing with human history, and thus human history became applicable in philosophical debate. Yet, ironically Hegel's legacy was not in an expansion of the Geist but a withering away. The Young Hegelians, viz Feuerbach and Marx, took Hegel's train of thought to its rational conclusion and united Body and Spirit as one indivisible entity in a strict Materialist world. Thus Hegel is to late 19th Century philosophy what Kant is to Hegel.
This Pettis-Lovell Independent Publishers Ltd. (PLI) edition of Hegel's Phenomenology of the Spirit is an inexpensive English-German edition for eReader composed of Baillie's translation, the 1807 German edition, and Findlay's Notes. Although Baillie and Findlay are outdated, and it is assumed that most Philosophy courses that assign Hegel reading will require students to purchase the Miller translation. This is not an alternative to an over-priced textbook but a supplement.
A translation can only take one so far, but going to the original text of a German philosopher usually requires purchasing an expensive critical edition of the text. Any serious student of Hegel will inevitably need a critical German edition of this work (which this edition is emphatically not), but not every undergrad studying the giants of German philosophy needs that kind of resource. Most introductory Hegel seminars can benefit from a cross reference from Miller or Baillie to the original language (with or without a good German Dictionary).
