Reddit reviews Introduction to the Reading of Hegel: Lectures on the "Phenomenology of Spirit"

Not sure about the specific concepts you're having a problem with, but I found Kojeve extremely helpful:

http://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Reading-Hegel-Lectures-Phenomenology/dp/0801492033

It might be more accurate to say that existentialism has its origins in phenomenology rather than a reaction to Hegel. Reading Kierkegaard is important, as well as Nietzsche, but neither of them are really 'existentialist' --- they're usually thought of as proto-existentialist thinkers. They touch on or introduce themes that become more developed in later thinkers such as Sartre, Jaspers, etc.

If you want to understand existentialism in its historical context, then certainly reading some Hegel would be beneficial, since you would want to know what exactly Kierkegaard was objecting to in Hegel's philosophy. But I also think it would probably be better to focus on Husserl and Heidegger, as these two philosophers are arguably more important to understanding existentialism.

As far as what you should read, I can't offer much advice because Hegel and Kierkegaard are not my specialty. I own this book by Kojeve on reading Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit, which I recommend. Hegel is difficult for me; I definitely recommend finding good secondary sources.

For a first class, that's some heady reading. You might want to look at Kojeve's Introduction to the Reading of Hegel, at least the first couple pages. He is easier than Hegel, and his reading was extremely influential for 20th Century philosophy that concerns Hegel.

If you are interested in understanding Hegel, I recommend reading Kojève. He makes Hegel somewhat more intelligible.

Hi, I'm really glad you've asked! I'm not strictly a Hegelian, but through understanding what he's talking about I've understood what ALL philosophers were talking about a lot more. Especially how it all boils down to time.

I think the best way to get into reading Hegel's Phenomenolgy of Spirit is to read it in unison with Kojeve's "Introduction to the Reading of Hegel: Lectures on the Phenomenology of Spirit". I admit that I would not have been able to understand the Phenomenology of Spirit by just picking it up and reading from cover to cover. It may be availabe at your local library... here's the Amazon page (no referal mumbo jumbo don't worry) so you can see the reviews. Not too thick, either. I just looked on archive.org and the book's not there, sorry. Can't lend you mine, it was burned in a fire. :(

Leo Strauss is a guy who's earned a bad reputation recently, but if you stick to his pure philosophical scholarship and stay away from the ridiculous image which has grown around him, you'll learn a lot about Modernism and the Ancients.

I don't know if you've read Tocqueville, but the idea is: his work on "Democracy in America" is the best political scholarship on liberal democracy precisely because he was on the outside looking in. We are all Modernists, so to get the best understanding of our thought, we should try to look at how the Ancients thought, and look in from there.

Strauss actually argued against Kojeve, on the side of the Ancient philosophers, but some claim that he was in fact a Hegelian himself, just of a different nature than Kojeve. Unfortunately Strauss writes esoterically/exoterically so it's very difficult to get into. If you read the Hegel book and want to go "deeper" into this strain of political philosophy I can let you in on a few secrets... and no the secret is not that Strauss was a Machiavellian, it's completely different than that.

The other two writers who I strongly recommend, who are both in the same vein, are Carl Shmitt and Eric Voegelin. Schmitt is easy to read but is really fucked up -- he makes Heidegger look like a day at the park. Voegelin is inaccessible.

The strain of thought these four political philosophers have which is different from any other philosopher since Nietzche will become apparent with Kojeve's book. If I could state it very simply, it would be that they take the history of Western Philosophy seriously, unlike the "mainstream" which tends to say "OK this is what Artistotle thought, and the reason for this is that he existed within these historical circumstances." It does go much, much deeper than that but I don't want to give it away.

Kojeve's "introduction" is definitely what you're seeking, though. Hope I haven't scared you off.

I'm not sure exactly what you mean by "modern." If, however, you are not excluding non-living philosophers, Alexandre Kojève was heavily influenced by Hegel. If you are interested here is a link to a book containing his lectures on Hegel.