Abstract

Stewart in this book uses essays from well-known Hegel scholars such as Shlomo Avineri, Emil Fackenheim, T. M. Knox, and Henning Ottmann to identify and to correct Hegel myths. Five myths are discussed thoroughly. Part 1 deals with the myth of Hegel justifying the status quo derived from the dictum "was vernünftig ist, das ist wirklich; und was wirklich ist, das ist vernünftig" in the preface of the Philosophy of Right. This allegation does not consider that "according to his [Hegel's] dialectic of culture and spirit, philosophical knowledge must emerge from within the development of actual knowledge and cultural forms, and not as an artificial imposition upon them".