Picturing Hegel: An Illustrated Guide to Hegel's Encyclopaedia Logic

by Julie E. Maybee

In her innovative take on G.W. F. Hegel's The Encyclopaedia Logic , Julie E. Maybee uses pictures and diagrams to cut through the philosopher's dense, difficult writing. Picturing An Illustrated Guide to Hegel's Encyclopaedia Logic utilizes diagrams in order to rehabilitate Hegel's logic for serious consideration by showing how each stage develops step-by-step from earlier stages according to definite, logical patterns. This interpretation makes Hegel's work accessible and understandable for new and experienced readers alike. Because Hegel uses the same logic in all of his works, Maybee's analysis and defense of the logic will capture the attention of those readers interested in Hegel's ethics, politics, history, philosophy of religion, and phenomenology.

Through the included diagrams, Maybee is able to define central Hegelian concepts such as "being-in-itself," and "being-in-and-for-itself" with a new level of precision. Maybee argues that Hegel's logic does not include the one logistical pattern most often attributed to him; namely, the pattern "thesis-antithesis-synthesis." Rather, Hegel's model of logic was more scientific than formalistic in nature, as the philosopher himself pointed out. Hegel considered himself an encyclopedic culmination of Western philosophy in some ways, and indeed his work summarizes many of the presuppositions of Western philosophy. By picturing Hegel's logic, we can gain a greater understanding of ourselves.

668 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 2009

Reviews

[Marc Porlier · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's always difficult to know where to start with any Hegel text. I'm not qualified to assess Maybee's reading of Hegel against competing interpretations, but her use of diagrams to explain the progression in the the Encyclopedia Logic provides an excellent foothold for the novice reader.