Skip to main content

Primary sourceBook1807

The Phenomenology of Spirit

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel · 1807

Hegel's first major book, written as Napoleon's army entered Jena, tracing consciousness through stages to absolute knowing.

Hegel's own first major book, written in his own hand as its author.

Ask Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
Title page of Hegel's 1807 book, reading 'System der Wissenschaft von Ge. Wilh. Fr. Hegel', 'Erster Theil, die Phänomenologie des Geistes', printed in Bamberg and Würzburg by Joseph Anton Goebhardt.
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, title page of The Phenomenology of Spirit, 1807.

About this source

What it is

This is Hegel's 1807 book, his first major philosophical work. It was finished as Napoleon's army entered the city of Jena. The book traces how consciousness develops from basic sensory experience to what Hegel calls 'absolute knowing'.

Why it matters

Written during huge political upheaval across Europe, it marks Hegel's break from his former mentor Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling and sets out his own distinctive philosophy. It contains the famous 'master-slave dialectic' about recognition between people, and it later became a foundational text for thinkers like Karl Marx and 20th-century philosophers.

Look closer

  • Why might a philosopher write about how human minds develop over time rather than just stating conclusions?
  • What might it mean that this difficult book was written while a war was happening around its author?
  • Why do you think this book was not widely understood when it was first published?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

More Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel sources

Meet the AI Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel →
Title page of Hegel's 1821 work in German black-letter type: 'Grundlinien der Philosophie des Rechts', by D. Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Ordentl. Professor der Philosophie an der Königl. Universität zu Berlin. Imprint: Berlin, 1821, In der Nicolaischen Buchhandlung.Book

Primary source

Elements of the Philosophy of Right

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel · 1821

Title page of Hegel's Wissenschaft der Logik, printed in Gothic-style blackletter type. It reads Wissenschaft der Logik, von D. Ge. Wilh. Friedr. Hegel, Professor und Rector am Königl. Bayerischen Gymnasium zu Nürnberg, Erster Band, Die objective Logik, Zweytes Buch, Die Lehre vom Wesen, Nürnberg, bey Johann Leonhard Schrag, 1813.Book

Primary source

Science of Logic

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel · 1812-1816

Title page of Hegel's Encyclopädie der philosophischen Wissenschaften im Grundrisse in black blackletter type. Text reads: Zum Gebrauch seiner Vorlesungen, von D. Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Professor der Philosophie an der Universität zu Heidelberg. Heidelberg, August Oswald's Universitätsbuchhandlung, 1817.Book

Primary source

Encyclopedia of the Philosophical Sciences

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel · 1817

Oil painting of an older man with thinning grey hair, pale blue eyes, and a serious expression, wearing a brown fur-collared coat and white cravat against a dark background.Painting

Primary source

The Philosopher Georg Friedrich Wilhelm Hegel

Jakob Schlesinger · 1831

Lithograph of a bearded man in a dark coat leaning over a wooden lectern, speaking to three students seen from behind in long coats, one holding a top hat. A fourth figure sketches at right. Handwritten signature 'Gb Hegel' below.Painting

Primary source

Hegel mit Studenten

Franz Kugler

Ready when you are

Start chatting with Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions