Hegel’s Vorlesungen über die Geschichte der Philosophie IV (Lectures on the History of Philosophy IV) is a volume of Gesammelte Werke (Collected Works) documenting Hegel’s winter semester lectures of 1827/28 on the history of philosophy. This work, derived from the surviving transcripts of Alexander Hueck and August Diecks, with additional fragments from the lost transcript of Karl Weltrich, offers a detailed and expansive view of Hegel’s chronological exploration of philosophical thought.
Lectures on the History of Philosophy hold special significance within Hegel’s teaching activities. After his lectures on logic and metaphysics, Hegel devoted the most time and detail to this subject, and through these lectures, he established the discipline of the history of philosophy as a fundamental part of the philosophical sciences.
Hegel first lectured on the history of philosophy in Jena in 1805/06, then in Heidelberg in 1816/17 and 1817/18, and later presented the full course six times in Berlin (in summer 1819, winter 1820/21, and subsequently every two years in 1823/24, 1825/26, 1827/28, and 1829/30). In the winter of 1831/32, he was only able to deliver the beginning of the introduction due to his passing. Unlike his lectures in Jena and Heidelberg, the Berlin courses are all preserved through transcripts.
Volume 30,4 documents the winter semester of 1827/28, a course known from only a few sources: the transcripts of Alexander (Friedrich von) Hueck (1802–1842) and Friedrich August Diecks (1805–1891). Only for the introduction and the section on Oriental philosophy are additional passages preserved from the transcript of Karl Weltrich (1807–1831), which Johannes Hoffmeister was able to use for the first volume of his planned complete edition of Hegel’s Lectures on the History of Philosophy.
The preceding volumes include the transcript of the summer 1819 course and the winter 1820/21 course (30,1), the winter 1823/24 course (30,2), and the winter 1825/26 course (30,3). The following volumes will contain the transcripts of the 1829/30 course, as well as the beginning of the 1831/32 course (Volume 30,5), and the appendix (Volume 30,6).
The book is structured to follow Hegel’s approach to philosophy as an evolving narrative, beginning with early Oriental and Greek philosophy. Hegel traces the development of Greek thought from Thales and the Presocratics through the systematic contributions of Plato and Aristotle. Hegel then shifts to philosophy in the Roman world, examining Stoicism, Epicureanism, and Skepticism, before moving to the “turning point” of the ancient world with figures like Philo, the Alexandrians, and Neoplatonists such as Plotinus and Proclus.
In the Christian period, Hegel explores the integration of philosophy with religious thought, covering early Christian philosophers, the scholastics—including Aquinas, Scotus, and Ockham—and mystical thinkers. Hegel presents the subsequent “modern period” as a new era, featuring philosophers like Descartes, Spinoza, Locke, Leibniz, and culminating in his detailed analyses of the philosophies of Kant, Fichte, and Schelling. Hegel’s reflections on French philosophy, represented by figures such as Rousseau and Helvétius, provide additional historical context, linking developments in French and German thought.
The volume concludes with an appendix on symbols, sigla, and abbreviations used in the text, providing clarity for readers navigating Hegel’s complex terminology. This book is an essential resource for understanding the breadth of Hegel’s historical-philosophical vision, showcasing his endeavor to weave philosophy’s past into a cohesive narrative leading to the emergence of modern philosophical inquiry.
Simon Gros 
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