Hegel's Career and Politics: The Making of the Most Famous Philosopher in Germany, 1788-1831

This book focuses on the crucial relationship between Hegel’s career and politics. It situates this relationship within the broader political and historical context of his time. More specifically, Tabak explores the unlikely story of how an ambitious, incoherent, and academically untalented person had managed to become the most famous and powerful philosopher in Germany during the last decade of his life. In this context, and contrary to the contemporary “consensus view,” Tabak documents conclusively that Hegel was a servile apologist for the repressive Prussian state, and that this was the main reason why he became the most famous philosopher in Germany. In this meticulously-researched book, the author skillfully combines biographical, historical, and philosophical analyses and information to offer a compelling and rich account.