"Understanding Hegelianism" explores the ways in which Hegelian and anti-Hegelian currents of thought have shaped some of the most significant movements in twentieth-century European philosophy, particularly the traditions of critical theory, existentialism, Marxism and poststructuralism. The first part of the book examines Kierkegaard's existentialism and Marx's materialism, which present two defining poles of subsequent Hegelian and anti-Hegelian movements. The second part looks at the contrasting critiques of Hegel by Lukacs and Heidegger, which set the stage for the appropriation of Hegelian themes in German critical theory and the anti-Hegelian turn in French poststructuralism. Although the focus is primarily on German and French appropriations of Hegelian thought, the author also explores some of the recent developments in Anglophone Hegelianism.
