Philosopher · 1770 – 1831
Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
Little-Known Facts
- Hegel finished the Phenomenology of Spirit as Napoleon's army occupied Jena, and he glimpsed Napoleon riding through the city.
- He spent years as a school headmaster and newspaper editor before securing a professorship.
Myths & Misconceptions
Did Hegel coin the formula 'thesis, antithesis, synthesis'?
Not really. Though associated with him, that tidy triad was popularized by others; Hegel's own dialectic is far more fluid and complex.