Introduction

Hegel was a German philosopher of the 18th century with some fairly mind-blowing ideas. He's crossed the line between madness and genius, but he's still sane enough to write down his ideas - only just. In terms of the history of philosophy, the major influence at the time that Hegel was growing up was Kant. And I think seeing that as the historical background gives some idea of his sense of history and the importance ofhistorical change.