The Philosophy of Right

(Paperback)

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A modern, highly readable translation of a primary text in Western philosophy. Complete translation in English with introduction, notes and glossary. The glossary is keyed to the primary occurrences of important terms in the text and provides insights into the concepts beyond the translation, especially useful pedagogical device for students coming to Hegel for the first time. Focus Philosophical Library translations are close to and are non-interpretative of the original text, with the notes and a glossary intending to provide the reader with some sense of the terms and the concepts as they were understood by Hegel's immediate audience.

Reviews

"White's edition of Hegel's monumental work on politics is excellent: useful to first-time readers and specialists alike. It is the best English translation of this work to date: accurate down to small details of the German, and highly readable. The Introduction, Notes, and Glossary provide just the right amount of information and, more importantly, provoke philosophic reflection. "Several translation decisions are worthy of special attention. The most daring, and most helpful, is White's translation of the central term Fursichsein, normally translated 'being for itself,' as 'being as itself.' White, drawing on Hegel's Science of Logic, makes a convincing case for this decision. This departure from literalness gets at what Hegel means by the term and makes many crucial passages come out with more concreteness and clarity. Beisichsein gets the concrete (and accurate) rendering 'being at home with oneself.' 'Conveyance' rather than 'alienation' for Entausserung helps to stave off confusion. Another noteworthy rendering is 'worldly being' for Hegel's Existenz, which allows 'existence' to translate Dasein. The ubiquitous 'aufheben' is rendered 'suspend' (after the suggestion of W. A. Suchting). These are but a few of the intelligent departures from both tradition and literalness that bring the reader closer to Hegel's meaning. "White's edition is especially appropriate to first-time readers of Hegel. The Introduction brings out what is at stake in Hegel's project, now as much as then; and the Glossary provides a reader-friendly introduction to Hegel's often-confusing language. One rejoices in a translation that gives students and teachers access to a profound and difficult work that can provoke the most searching examination of modern political assumptions." - Peter Kalkavage, St. John's College

Author Bio

Alan White is Mark Hopkins Professor of Philosophy at Williams College.