Abstract

Following on part 1 of Howard Kainz's analysis and commentary of Hegel's Phenomenology, published in 1976, the present volume contains what the author calls an "exegesis and interpretation" of chapters 6 to 8. It should be noted that the division of the commentary into two parts is in no way intended to indicate any radical division in Hegel's text. A more significant division within Kainz's text is that between the interpretation, which is original, free, sometimes even fanciful, and the commentary contained in the footnotes, which are both copious and for the most part long. A significant feature of the commentary, incidentally, is that for all quotations from Hegel's text, which with reason are translated rather freely, the original German is given in the footnotes. The headings--both of chapters and of sections within each chapter-are Hegel's own, with subheadings, which may or may not accurately reflect Hegel's thinking. Chapters and major sections are preceded by "introductory remarks." All in all the "analysis" reads more like a guide to reading the Phenomenology--in the way the author reads it--than a careful analysis of Hegel's text. Frequently one suspects that one is being treated to an exposition of Kainz's rather than Hegel's thinking. Kainz is, however, extremely well-read, and his treatment is unquestionably erudite. There are, indeed, significant insights--particularly regarding chapters 6 and 8, but one frequently has the impression that the author is telling us what Hegel ought to have meant, which may well not be what Hegel actually did mean. It is not without value, however, to be confronted with what reading Hegel calls to mind in a scholar like Kainz.--Quentin Lauer, Fordham University.