Hegel Q&A and Discussion Coming Up Today

Each month, for a number of years now, I've been hosting online Hegel video-conferencing sessions, in which participants get to ask questions, get my best attempts at answers, and discuss Hegel-related matters.

We started these using Google Hangouts - hence the image you see here - and then for a long time were using a different videoconferencing platform, FreeConferenceCall.  We've now switched to Zoom as the main platform for these monthly sessions.

We're holding this month's session at 5 PM Central Time today.  If you'd like to attend and participate, here is the Zoom link for the session.  I hope to see some of you there, and look forward to a great conversation!

Updated the Video Series Page

As I gear up for resuming production on the Half Hour Hegel series (more about why that's taken so long coming in another post), I thought I had better take a look at the Video Series page here on the Half Hour Hegel site, to see if it was up to date with the 264 commentary videos I have created so far.

It was a good thing that I did that.  The page was about ten or so lectures behind.  The videos on the Duplicity and Deception section were long ago finished, so all of those are now linked to on that page.  And the four videos available so far in the Conscience section are now there as well.

Once we finish up the Conscience section, we will have successfully made it to the end of the massive Spirit portion of the work, and we'll be starting Religion - the second to last portion of the work.  I expect that between what's left of Spirit, that Religion portion and the last, short portion - Absolute Knowing - I'll likely need to shoot somewhere between 60 to 80 additional half-hour videos, bringing the series to well over 300.

Hegel Q&A and Discussion Session Coming Up Tomorrow!

It's that time of the month again - time for us to hold another online session open to the general public interested in G.W.F. Hegel, philosophy more general, or the Half Hour Hegel project!

Tomorrow evening, from 5:00-6:00 PM Central Time, I'll be hosting our monthly online Hegel Q&A and Discussion session.  We give priority to anyone who wants to talk or ask questions about Hegel specifically, but I'm open to discussing all sorts of other topics, and some of the attendees often bring a host of other ideas to the table.

If you are looking for some clarification about Hegel's works - they're tough, right? - then you definitely want to make the time to log in to this session.  For the time being, we are still using this FreeConferenceCall platform to log in to the videoconferencing, but we're going to look at other platforms for next year.

So, feel free to pop in.  You can chat with me - I'll be there.  You can just lurk and listen - if that's what you're into.  But I'll be there, along with any other interlocutors who make the time, ready to discuss the thought of this great German philosopher!

Hegel Q&A and Discussion Hangout Later Today

Every month we host two online Hegel Q&A and Discussion "Hangout"s - one for the general public, and one for my Patreon supporters of the project (both of them brought to you by those Patreon supporters' generous underwriting).

Today, from 3-4 PM Central Time, I'll be hosting the one for the general public - and that means literally anyone who has an interest in Hegel, German Idealism, post-Hegelian philosophy, or even philosophy more generally - you're all welcome!

We often veer off into other topics of conversation, ranging from contemporary events and politics, to my current crop of students, to ancient and medieval philosophy, to. . .  but, we do give priority to any questions, comments, or conversation that's more explicitly Hegel-related.

Here's the link you can use to get into the session.  You can come to chat, or even just to lurk and listen, if you like.  Hope to see some of you there!

First Three Videos in "Dissemblance and Duplicity" Section

Now we start a new, second section of the "Morality" portion of the "Spirit" part of the work - "Dissemblance and Duplicity".  We pick up some of the seemingly paradoxical threads that already began to display themselves in the preceding section, and try to work them through entirely (and, if you know Hegel, you realize that this "entirely" is less of an ending point than an ideal!)

Why is this section titled with those terms?  In Hegel's German, it's actually just one term, "Die Verstellung", which could be rendered with either of those terms, or even "disguise".  You might ask who is engaging in dissemblance or duplicity - and what is being mis-represented (if you'd like to play off Vor-stellung) in that way.

At any rate, here are those three first videos. More yet to come in this section.

• Lecture 261 - paragraphs 616-617
• Lecture 262 - paragraphs 618
• Lecture 263 - paragraphs 619

Final Four Videos In "The Moral View of the World"

We're making progress through this last big portion of the Spirit section, "Spirit That Is Certain of Itself: Morality."  With these four videos, we finish up the first portion of that section, "The Moral View of the World".

Who does Hegel have in mind here?  One might well think that his dialectical criticism is directed primarily at Immanuel Kant. But really, there's a much broader tendency in culture to identifying morality and duty over against our natural human inclinations and drive, and their satisfaction in happiness - more so in Hegel's time perhaps than in our own - that his discussion really bears upon.

Here are those four videos completing that section:

• Lecture 257 - paragraphs 604-605
• Lecture 258 - paragraphs 606-607
• Lecture 259 - paragraphs 608-610
• Lecture 260 - paragraphs 611-615

Hegel Q&A and Discussion Session Later Today

Every month, I hold two online Hegel Q&A and discussion sessions.  One of them - for anyone in the general public  - is coming up later today, at 4 PM Central Time.  Here's the link you can use to get into the session, if you'd like to attend.

Everyone is welcome.  You don't need to have a background in Hegel, German Idealism, or even philosophy more broadly - just an interest to learn, to discuss, or even to lurk and listen!

I do give top priority to anyone who has questions or comments specifically about Hegel, so if you've got some, don't be shy - we'll address those right off.

I also offer a second Hegel Q&A and discussion session each month as a perk for Patreon supporters of the Half Hour Hegel project.  If that's something you're interested in - supporting my ongoing work - here's the link for that.

A Humorous Review of Hegel's Phenomenology

One of my Facebook followers sent a photo of a hilarious Amazon review of Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit my way.  There have been so many mentions of that work as a sort of Bildungsroman for human consciousness that, quite frankly, I avoid that cliche.  (Spirit isn't really some juvenile coming of age - since there's no other big-S Spirits around to provide it a culture to come of age within - that's just to start).

There definitely is a narrative running through this work - after all, it's about this complex, ongoing, dialectical development of human consciousness through its own history, right?  And it arrives at a final point, the "end of history".  But that's all very big-picture, universal.

What if you misread the work as about a particular individual?  Then you'd get something like this perhaps:

First Four Videos in "The Moral View of the World"

We've now entered a new - and final - section of the Spirit part of the work - Morality.  This is the culmination of the previous three big sections of Spirit.  The first one introduced and explored ethical life, leading eventually into a form a self-alienated Spirit - Culture.

The complexities of culture then led us into a new section, one that Hegel takes as unique - at that point in time - to the West, that of the Enlightenment.  That in turn took us into the Absolute Freedom and Terror section, and that. . .  finally into Morality.

This entire section will grapple with the conception of duty or obligation, and how its demands intersect with those of nature, happiness, and actuality.

There is actually a very short introductory set of paragraphs, the commentary on which is here:

• Lecture 252 - paragraphs 596-598

And then, following those, we've got the first four lectures in the section itself

• Lecture 253 - paragraphs 599
• Lecture 254 - paragraphs 600-601
• Lecture 255 - paragraphs 602
• Lecture 256 - paragraphs 603

Public Q&A and Discussion Later Today

Each month, thanks to the underwriting of my Patreon supporters of the Half Hour Hegel project, I hold a online Q&A and discussion session, completely open to the general public (we also host another just for Patreon supporters as well).

We use this FreeConferenceCall link - clicking it takes you right to the ReasonIO "meeting wall", and then it's just another click (and perhaps downloading the app), and you're in!

We'll be meeting later on today, Tuesday, July 10, from 5-6 PM Central Time - so make sure to check the time difference if you're in another time zone.

You needn't  know anything about Hegel in order to participate. We do a good bit of Q&A in these sessions - and I give priority in the discussion to any Hegel-related questions participants ask.  So if you've been reading Hegel, or following along with the videos, or even just want to know what all this Hegel talk is about, feel free to join us. 

Hopefully I'll see some of you readers of this blog, and followers of the Half Hour Hegel project there.  Again, here's the link you can use to join.

Final Four Videos in "Absolute Freedom and Terror"

With these four videos, covering seven paragraphs, we finish up with a very long part of the even more massive Spirit portion of the Phenomenology of Spirit.  As noted earlier, this section is really a culmination of the long dialectic of rational self-discovery, effectively producing and unfolding modernity in the West, that has its trunk in the Enlightenment (though the roots may be said to go further back).

Enlightenment involves a transformation of human consciousness, in Hegel's view.  It changes the world - and to address Marx's complaint - it definitely does not change it only in the realm of ideas or understanding.  Enlightenment's transformation of human existence does not merely have practical consequences.  It takes place through the medium of the practical, within the realm of politics, culture, institutions, and government.

It also leads, as the very name of this section indicates, both to Absolute Freedom and to a Terror that is inextricably linked to it at this stage of dialectical development of consciousness.  And, as we shall see in the last paragraphs, it opens up a new path before us, one Hegel will call the Moral Consciousness - which we shall soon start exploring.

Here are the four videos finishing this section:

• Lecture 248 - paragraphs 589-590
• Lecture 249 - paragraphs 591
• Lecture 250 - paragraphs 592-593
• Lecture 251 - paragraphs 594-595

Online Workshop - Introduction to the Reading of Hegel

The Victory Farm Center for the Humanities selected Hegel's Phenomenology as their text to study together this summer, and the director reached out to me to ask if I would be willing to provide an online workshop session, an "Introduction to the Reading of Hegel" for them to kick off their collective study.

That's a rather daunting task - I find it's difficult to discuss Hegel well to begin with - and a major (though admittedly idiosyncratic) Hegel commentator, Alexander Kojeve, long ago authored his own Introduction to the Reading of Hegel.  It was also rather short notice - I had about two weeks to get ready, at a rather busy time in work (I don't take summers off, or even reduce my workload, since I'm not your usual academic). But I imagined I ought to be able to muddle through well enough to help some motivated readers better make sense of Hegel's thought in general and the Phenomenology in particular, so I agreed.

For their platform, they used a Google Hangout on Air, streaming over YouTube Live.  The advantage of that, of course, is that it automatically generates a YouTube video, allowing participants and other interested students to easily go back over the presentation and discussion, as often and as many times as they would like.  Here's that video of the session:



It runs about 1 hour 45 minutes in length.  The first part of it is really some chitchat and introductions, so I'd start it around the 13:30 mark, if you want to dive right in to the presentation.

First Four Videos in "Absolute Freedom and Terror"

We start a new subsection now in this second main part of the Spirit portion of the Phenomenology - Absolute Freedom and Terror - which most commentators read as referring to the French Revolution and its descent into the Terror.

This section emerges out of the dialectic of Enlightenment, which has successfully surpassed Faith and Culture.  We are left with a rational self-consciousness that once again - in a sense - becomes the totality of being, grasping the entire world in terms of its own knowing and willing.  Seems very optimistic for a bit.

But there are some serious problems that will shortly arise, as is nearly always the case with any dialectical advancement - you'll see those soon enough reading this section, and in watching these four commentary videos below:

• Lecture 244 - paragraphs 582-583
• Lecture 245 - paragraph 584
• Lecture 246 - paragraph 585
• Lecture 247 - paragraphs 586-588 

Public Hegel Q&A and Discussion Later Today

Every month, thanks to the underwriting of my Patreon supporters on the Half Hour Hegel project, I hold one online Q&A and discussion session, completely open to the general public (we also host another just for Patreon supporters as well).

So if you've been reading Hegel, or following along with the videos, or even just want to know what all this Hegel talk is about, feel free to join us.  We use this FreeConferenceCall link - clicking it takes you right to the ReasonIO "meeting wall", and then it's just another click (and perhaps downloading the app), and you're in!

We're meeting today, Wednesday, May 9, from 5-6 PM Central Time - so make sure to check the time difference if you're in another time zone.  Don't feel like you have to know anything about Hegel in order to participate. We do a good bit of Q&A in these sessions - and I give priority in the discussion to any Hegel-related questions participants ask!

Hopefully I'll see some of you readers of this blog, and followers of the Half Hour Hegel project there!

Hegel Is Always The Right Answer, No?

I couldn't resist.  And now this meme is making the rounds.  On that note, there are actually quite a few memes that people have generated from the Half Hour Hegel project.  Maybe I'll add some in here from time to time, perhaps with a bit of commentary. . . 

Six Videos Finishing Up the Enlightenment and Its Struggle With Superstition Section

I've gotten a bit behind in posting videos from the commentary here, so I'm posting the six that I've publicly released over the last month.  These finish up the first part of the Enlightenment section, titled "The Struggle of Enlightenment with Superstition". 

Right now my Patreon supporters of the Half Hour Hegel project are already seeing video commentaries in the "Absolute Freedom and Terror" section of the Phenomenology.  They're past the "Truth of Enlightenment" section, the videos from which I'll be releasing to the public this week and next.

For the time being though, if you're not a supporter, here are the next six videos released so far.  I hope you enjoy them - or at least that they help you make your way through this important part of the dialectic!

• Lecture 234 - paragraphs 561-562
• Lecture 235 - paragraphs 563-564
• Lecture 236 - paragraphs 565-566
• Lecture 237 - paragraphs 567-568
• Lecture 238 - paragraphs 569-571
• Lecture 239 - paragraphs 572-573

Online Hegel Q&A and Discussion Session Later Today

We're now a good ways into the month of April, and you know what that means.  It's time for another public online Hegel Q&A and discussion session.  Everyone who has an interest in Hegel, dialectical philosophy, German Idealism, or even philosophy more generally is welcome to attend and participate!

We'll be holding the session via video-conferencing using our ReasonIO FreeConferenceCall site - which you can access here.  It runs between 5-6 PM Central Time (so you'll want to check your time zone difference).

We often veer off into tangents during the discussion, depending on who shows up and what they want to talk about.  But I do give priority to any Hegel-related questions and discussions.  So if you've been puzzled by Hegel's philosophy, want to chat about it, or even just want to listen in, you're welcome to join us!

We provide these free online sessions every month - and my time and work devoted to them are underwritten by the supporters of the Half Hour Hegel project.  If you'd like to help me continue creating videos in the Half Hour Hegel series, and offering online events like this, become a supporter on Patreon!

Three More Videos in Enlightenment and its Struggle with Superstition

Continuing our progress through this rather long section, below you'll find video lectures seven through nine on "The Enlightenment and its Struggle With Superstition."  We're about halfway through this portion of the text at this point.

Again, we see a kind of double-critique going on in Hegel's text.  Or, you might actually say, if not triple, at least two and a half critiques.  The Enlightenment itself is - along other things - a critique of Faith.  And at the same time, the Enlightenment doesn't entirely understand Faith, or even itself - so what we are getting in Hegel's narration is another critique - one of both Faith and Enlightenment.

Hegel also allows Faith to get its own say at points, but although it does have a certain advantage in practice, it is also at a disadvantage.  Faith is right in pointing out where Enlightenment critique puts words in Faith's mouth, or misinterprets what it is about.  But, Faith is even less consistently self-conscious than the Enlightenment is.  Perhaps I'll write more about this later on.  For the time being, here are the new videos:

• Lecture 231 - paragraphs 555-556
• Lecture 232 - paragraphs 557-558
• Lecture 233 - paragraphs 559-560

March Hegel Online Q&A and Discussion Session

It's time again for another monthly online Half Hour Hegel Q&A and Discussion session. 

We'll be holding it in just a few hours, later this evening - from 5-6 PM Central Time.  I hope you'll be able to join us for some discussion about Hegel's thought, German Idealism, or philosophy more generally!

This session is open to anyone who would like to participate, not just Patreon supporters of this project. 

We discuss whatever Hegel-related matters people want to bring up, often straying a good distance from Hegel himself into other topics.  We do give priority to anyone who wants to bring up or ask about something focused on Hegel's thought - so if you've got some question, or confusion, or even if the Phenomenology just isn't making sense (which still happens to me), stop in an ask away!.

If you'd like to participate, we use FreeConferenceCall as our videoconferencing platform - here's the link that you'll need to use to get into the session.

Support by my Patreon supporters makes work possible for me to engage in and continue, so if you're interested in chipping in a bit to underwrite this crowdfunded project, here's my page.

A Major Underestimation Of Time Devoted To Hegel

This "memory" came through my Facebook feed today, and gave me my first belly-laugh of the morning.  2 years!  That's the amount of time I originally estimated working my way through Hegel's entire Phenomenology might take me. 

As of today, I'm now four years into the series.  I've produced 236 video commentaries, generally between 25-35 minutes in length - so that's about 116 hours of video.  And. . . since I'm at paragraph 567, I'm about 70% finished. 

So, at this point - having spent twice the original two years that I thought the project would require - I can now estimate that, after another two years, I should have it finished up.  And that, my readers and viewers, is simply hilarious to me!  I'm not all that good at estimating and budgeting time, but to be off by that amount. . .  well, it makes you think, doesn't it. 

I was actually very surprised to see that I had in fact lowballed the time required, and somehow come up with that figure of two years - if I didn't see it there in my Facebook "memories", and you had told me that I had originally gave that number, I wouldn't have believed you!  But there it is.

I don't begrudge the time, thought, and work that this project requires.  Why?  Because I've got the metrics to prove to myself that these Half Hour Hegel videos are having an impact and being used by thousands of people worldwide.

At this point, the videos have had over 360,000 views.  They have been watched for 3.7 million minutes.  (These numbers are a bit low, since I'm using the YouTube analytics for just the first 200 in the series). Let's say that 2/3 of those views were just clicks and bounces - the average view duration for these videos is about 10 minutes.  That would still be 120,000 full views of these commentary videos. 

There are two other really interesting - and I think highly relevant - measures.  One of them is the number of playlists these videos have been placed into, over 8,000.  I'm willing to bet that the majority of these are actually "watch later" playlists.  Let's say 90% of them are.  That woulds still be 800 real playlists these videos have found their way into.  The other one is the numbers of likes and dislikes.  YouTube is a tough place when it comes to audience.  My Half Hour Hegel videos have 51 dislikes.  They have over 8,000 likes.

So clearly, while they definitely are a niche product, the videos from this project have drawn an audience.  They are having an impact - the comments that I get, read, and respond to also bear that out - and so at this 4-years in point, I can definitely reaffirm my commitment to seeing the entire project through.

I will say one last thing in this retrospective piece, and that is about my Patreon supporters.  These videos require a lot of work in research, planning, shooting, and editing - about 4-5 hours on average for every 30 minute video - and there is no way I could afford to dedicate that time and energy if I didn't have some financial support.  It's not an academic institution, a rich patron, a government agency, or even a grant - it's instead devoted individuals pooling their pledges together to support my work - people who put their money not just where their mouths are, but where their minds are. 

So, I'd like to say thanks to all of my Patreon supporters!  And if you're someone who benefits from the videos, but isn't a supporter, you probably should say thanks to those who do effectively underwrite the series as well!