 | Hegel on Hamann Subjects: Hamann Johann Georg 1730–1788. Hamann’s Schriften; Hamann Johann Georg 1730–1788 -- Criticism and interpretation; Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich 1770–1831 -- Criticism and interpretation; Germany -- Intellectual life -- 18th century; In 1828, G. W. F. Hegel published a critical review of Johann George Hamann, a retrospective of the life and works of one of Germany's most enigmatic and challenging thinkers and writers. While Hegel's review had enjoyed a central place in Hamann studies since its appearance, Hegel on Hamann is the first English translation of the important work. Philosophers, theologians, and literary critics welcome Anderson's stunning translation since Hamann is gaining renewed attention, not only as a key figure of German intellectual history, but also as an early forerunner of postmodern thought. Relationships between Enlightenment, Counter Enlightenment, and Idealism come to the fore as Hegel reflects on Hamann's critiques of his contemporaries Immanuel Kant, Moses Mendelssohn, J. G. Herder, and F. H. Jacobi. Hegel on Hamann also includes an introduction to Hegel's review, as well as an essay on the role of friendship in Hamann's life, in Hegel's thought, and in German intellectual culture more broadly. Rounding out the volume are its extensive annotations and bibliography, which facilitate further study of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century philosophy in English and German. This book is essential both for readers of Hegel or Hamann and for those interested in the history of German thought, the philosophy of religion, language and hermeneutics, or friendship as a philosophical category. G. W. F. Hegel (1770-1831) was one of the leading German philosophers of the nineteenth century. He taught at the University of Heidelberg and the University of Berlin, where he wrote his most important works, The Phenomenology of the Spirit (1870) and the Encyclopedia of the Philosophical Sciences (1818). Lisa Marie Anderson is an assistant professor in the Department of German at Hunter College, City University of New York. She resides in New York City. |
