Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (August 27, 1770 – November 14, 1831) was a German philosopher born in Stuttgart, Württemberg, which is now southwest Germany. He started Hegelianism and is a part of German Idealism. He influenced many writers and philosophers, including those who agreed with him (Bradley, Sartre, Küng, Bauer, Stirner, Marx), and those who did not agree with him (Kierkegaard, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Schelling). Hegel's books are difficult to read and deal with many different ideas at the same time. He has written about history, politics, religion, art, logic and metaphysics.

Major works

• Phenomenology of Spirit (Phänomenologie des Geistes Sometimes translated as Phenomenology of Mind) 1807 (This gives an example of the problem: The English translators of the Phänomenologie des Geistes are not sure if they should translate "Geist" by "Spirit" or by "Mind", although the terms "Spirit" and "Mind" are sharply distinct in the English language.)
• Science of Logic (Wissenschaft der Logik) 1812–1816 (last edition of the first part 1831)
• Encyclopedia of the Philosophical Sciences (Enzyklopaedie der philosophischen Wissenschaften) 1817–1830
• Elements of the Philosophy of Right (Grundlinien der Philosophie des Rechts) 1821
• Lectures on Aesthetics
• Lectures on the Philosophy of History (also translated as Lectures on the Philosophy of World History) 1830
• Lectures on Philosophy of Religion
• Lectures on the History of Philosophy

Secondary literature

• Theodor W. Adorno, 1994. Hegel: Three Studies. MIT Press. Translated by Shierry M. Nicholsen, with an introduction by Nicholsen and Jeremy J. Shapiro, ISBN 0-262-51080-4. Essays on Hegel's concept of spirit/mind, Hegel's concept of experience, and why Hegel is difficult to read.
• Avineri, Shlomo, 1974. Hegel's Theory of the Modern State. Cambridge University Press. Best introduction to Hegel's political philosophy.
• Frederick C. Beiser, ed., 1993. The Cambridge Companion to Hegel. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-38711-6. The Cambridge Companions are a good way to start learning about a particular philosopher; this one is no exception.