The publication in 1807 of Georg Wilhelm Frederich Hegel's Phanomenologie des Geistes (translated alternately as "Phenomenology of Mind" or "Phenomenology of Spirit") marked the beginning of the modern era in philosophy. Hegel's remarkable insights formed the basis for what eventually became the Existentialist movement. Yet the Phenomenology remains one of the most difficult and forbidding works in the canon of philosophical literature. Hegel's Phenomenology. Part 1: Analysis and Commentary by Howard P. Kainz provides a coherent and readable key to understanding Hegel.

Kainz provides an accessible entry into the complexities of Hegelian thought by asking a series of questions about such matters as the literary form of the Phenomenology, its "plot." its relation to the "system," its subject matter, the problem of objectivity, dialectical necessity. the concept of "experience." and the Hegelian concept of consciousness. Building on the work of previous commentators, and presenting the work of these commentators in a clear and unbiased manner, Kainz offers an analysis that will be helpful both to experienced Hegelian scholars and to those readers preparing to approach the large and bewildering territory of the Phenomenology for the first time.

Originally published in 1976 by the University of Alabama Press. Hegel's Phenomenology. Part 1 is being republished by Ohio University Press, which has already published Professor Kainz's Hegel's Phenomenology. Part II. Together, the two studies provide much-needed clarifications and insights into this most complex and difficult of philosophers.