Philosophy Lectures. Volume 4

Author: (German) Hegel
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 1978-01-01
Features: Postscript: This translation is based on the seventeenth volume of the "Collected Works of Hegel" (reprinted in 1928 by Hermann Glockner to commemorate the centennial of Hegel's death), which is hereinafter referred to as the Glockner edition. The Glockner edition was reprinted from the Michaelis edition. The Michaelis edition (Karl Ludwig Michaelis) was compiled from three manuscripts and outlines of Hegel's lectures on the history of philosophy, as well as three student notes, and was published in 1833. Its volume is also the thirteenth volume of the German "Collected Works of Hegel," hereinafter referred to as the Michaelis edition. Additionally, we referred to the English translation of Hegel's "History of Philosophy," translated by Haldane (E.S. Haldane), published in 1892. Haldane's English translation was based on the second German edition of 1840, revised by Michaelis. However, we did not obtain the original German second edition of Michaelis. Glockner reprinted the Michaelis edition, not the second edition of Michaelis, and we translated based on the Glockner edition, using the English translation only as a reference, because the edition has some advantages over the second edition. The edition is slightly longer than the second edition, contains more substantial material, and is closer to the original wording of Hegel's lectures, as it records and preserves even the off-the-cuff remarks Hegel inserted into the classroom discussions. The second edition was heavily edited by the compiler Michaelis, with better organization and smoother text, but it deviates slightly from the original state of Hegel's lectures. Moreover, it is particularly important that the "History of Philosophy" read by Engels and Lenin, which includes summaries and notes, is the Michaelis edition, not the second edition. Although the two editions differ significantly in organization, their content is basically the same. While translating based on the Glockner edition, we found some omissions or unclear expressions, and the English translation provided some assistance. It must be noted that the English translation has many errors, especially in the sections on Eastern philosophy and in places with deeper philosophical significance. The page numbers of the German original (Michaelis edition, volume 13) printed in the margins of the Chinese translation correspond to the page numbers cited in Lenin's "Philosophical Notes." Additionally, we referred to the 1940 edition of Hegel's "History of Philosophy" volume by Johannes Hoffmeister, which was completely reorganized based on original materials. The Hoffmeister edition separately published Hegel's manuscripts from his Heidelberg and Berlin periods (primarily the introduction), extensively collected and organized twelve student notes on Hegel's "History of Philosophy" from libraries around the world (one from the Leningrad Library, one from the Polish Library, and a draft outline copied from the Harvard University Library in the United States), and marked the chronological order. Because Hegel delivered the "History of Philosophy" nine times in his life, up to 1830 (he began the tenth lecture in November 1831 but died after only two hours). However, the Hoffmeister edition only covers the material up to the end of Eastern philosophy. Any additions based on the Hoffmeister edition in this translation are marked with [ ] and explained by the translator. We incorporated a significant amount of material on Eastern philosophy, especially Chinese philosophy, from the Hoffmeister edition into the Chinese translation. Since we referred to and selectively adopted material from the English translation and the Hoffmeister edition to enrich and correct the Glockner edition, it can be said that the content of this Chinese translation is richer than both the German edition and the second edition of the English translation. The translation of Hegel's "History of Philosophy" was organized by the Department of the History of Foreign Philosophy at the Peking University Philosophy Department. The introduction (parts A and B) was translated by He Lin, part C by Wang Taiqing. Eastern philosophy was translated from the English edition by Wang Weicheng, later revised by Wang Taiqing based on the German text, and supplemented by He Lin based on the Hoffmeister edition. The introduction, the Seven Sages, Ionian philosophy, and Pythagorean philosophy in Greek philosophy were translated or compiled by Wang Taiqing. The Eleatic school, Leucippus, and Democritus were translated by He Lin, Heraclitus and Empedocles by Yang Zutao, and Anaxagoras philosophy by Fang Shuchun. The entire translation was proofread by Zong Baihua and Fang Shuchun based on the German text. He Lin and Wang Taiqing, in addition to proofreading other colleagues' translations, were also responsible for the final arrangement and editing. Marking the original page numbers from the German edition on the margins of the book and compiling an index of important names and places were tasks undertaken by Wang Taiqing. In this book, we strive for consistency in terminology, and in cases where some terms have multiple meanings and are translated differently in various places, this was decided through collective discussion. Additionally, Comrade Tang Yongtong read the translation of the Eastern philosophy section, Comrade Feng Youlan read the translation of the Chinese philosophy section, Comrade Chen Xiuchai read the introduction section, and Comrade Miao Litian read most of the translation, all of whom provided valuable suggestions. Translating classic works of philosophy with collective effort is still a preliminary attempt. If there are any inappropriate places in the translation, we hope readers will provide more suggestions. This book includes volumes of modern philosophy, an introduction, chapters on Bacon, Hobbes, and Pascal, and a chapter on the period of rational metaphysics, including: 1. Bacon, 2. Hobbes and Pascal. The second part is the period of thinking and reason, including: 1. stage, 2. second stage, 3. third stage. The third part is the transitional period, including: 1. idealism and skepticism, 2. Scottish philosophy, 3. French philosophy. The third part is modern German philosophy, including: 1. Jacobi, etc.