ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book argues that contemporary social philosophy is enriched with an appreciation of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel’s insights in The phenomenology of spirit. It looks at the role of political economy in Hegel’s Philosophy of right and also argues that Hegel’s emphasis on social forms is relevant to the contemporary attempt to develop economics as a social science. The book provides a convincing case that ‘Hegel’s view of philosophy as itself a religious activity is of crucial relevance to his philosophy as a whole’ and that ‘far from being an anachronism’ the religious character is one of the main reasons why that philosophy continues to be relevant. It outlines the question of how the social sciences can be conceived of as being dialectical and shows that progress in this direction can be achieved only through an appreciation of Marx’s methodological debt to Hegel.
