Why should I read Hegel?

Answer 1

Humans have a short history, as a species, of being intelligent enough to know how to sort out the objective from the subjective quagmire of magical-thinking and cultural perspective. Socrates through Euclid got a method of clarity of thought sorted out, and then civilization crumbled into religious confusion and our reasoning plunged for centuries into a Dark Age of subjective feeble mindedness. Hegel is remembered primarily as a Socrates-type who reasoned that there is a "bigger" picture that is partly the sum of everyone's perspective and opinion, that (my term) the "renaissance" collective of perspectives yields a greater truth and that our personal enlightenment is similar, that self-actualization, or, wisdom, so to say, hails from a broad perspective and synthesis of our knowledge and life experience. That's it for Hegel. For many people crawling out of Christianity's subjective quagmire after the fall of ancient reason, Hegel's ideas were heady stuff. Seems obvious stuff to us today, but, without thinkers like Hegel, we might still be counting how many angels can dance on the head of a pin and burning people at the stake who don't get the "culturally correct" answer, so to say. But, that being said, Hegel is a bore.

Answer 2

Hegel is one of my favorite philosophers. Read Hegel if you've ever thought there was something wrong with questions that start with "this or that." Hegel was a master in showing how "this" can actually lead to "that" through its own internal contradictions. Ever since I read Phenomenology of Spirit, I have become acutely aware of reality--not as some frozen essence or dogma--but as something forever mutating into something else.

Answer 3

You need not read any of it unless it interests you. It is interesting, in the respect that the man was born before his time and had some excellent ideas. However he was very long-winded about his ideas, he`d use twenty words when two would suffice, he would not be able to hold the attention of to-days` philosophy students for very long, I definitely did not enjoy reading Hegel.

Answer 4

I suggest you read the chapter on Hegel in Volume 2 of Popper's "The Open Society and its Enemies". Not only is it one of the few funny philosophy reads around (there are some - "Anarchy, State and Utopia" by Nozick is "laugh out loud" funny in places) but also it'll tell you why you can read Hegel but you needn't bother.

Answer 5

Hegel was a genius!

Or an idiot.

Read Hegel and then you can decide which.

Answer 6

Hegel don't bother me.

Answer 7

The same reason as you should read any book - for the joy of reading.

Answer 8

Because it is extremely funny, beats Kant.

Answer 9

If you like or study philosophy you read him because he is important thinker and philosopher.

Answer 10

To get to Heidegger.