Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel's The Philosophy of History contains an edited series of lectures delivered by Hegel, a noted German philosopher and a key figure in German Idealism whose words and theories are studied to this day. The essays contained in this book provide a history of the world as viewed through a Hegelian perspective. Hegel attempts to trace the history of consciousness through studying some of the world's great societies. The philosopher argues that history is constructed with reason as the guiding principle. This book selects a number of different societies and explores their history in depth. China, India, Persia, Greece, Rome, and Germany are all examined within this work. While world history is the subject matter of this book, many readers approach this book with the intention of learning more about Hegel's philosophy. Indeed, much of the book is spent explaining Hegel's concept of "Geist," or spirit. Hegel believes history can be interpreted as a manifestation of the human spirit, and it is through this lens that The Philosophy of History operates. This series of essays serves as some of Hegel's most accessible work, and is thus a valid entry point for students of German Idealism and the author's philosophy as a whole. The book can still be quite challenging at times, and readers may want to familiarize themselves with Hegel's terminology before endeavoring to read this nearly 500-page work. The Philosophy of History stands up as one of the best introductions to German Idealism, and is thus recommended to all students and scholars of philosophy. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.