ABSTRACT
G. W. F. Hegel's Science of Logic (1812–16), which lays out the conceptual structure of the Absolute, seems to exist in a parallel philosophical universe to contemporary philosophy. Likewise, contemporary social and political realities mean that key concepts of Phenomenology can have at best limited application. Although Phenomenology produced at a time of radical revolutions in Europe, it was nevertheless written within the context of the Holy Roman Empire, a political institution founded in the Middle Ages. Phenomenology looks set to continue to be a source of insights for philosophers of all kinds. The sheer variety of topics in Phenomenology and its attempt to integrate them within one philosophical vision makes it a work without comparison. Hegel's attempt to write a developmental history of Western consciousness that includes and connects its central philosophical and cultural moments has never been equaled.
