History and Historical Narratives: On Sally Sedgwick’s <i>Time and History in Hegelian Thought and Spirit</i>

In her latest book, Sally Sedgwick raises two essential questions. The first will be of interest to all philosophers: why do most of Hegel’s texts take the form of ‘progressive narratives’? Why does Hegel give the form of a narrative to some of his philosophical texts, in a relatively unusual way? The second will be of particular interest to the Hegelian community: to what extent is Hegel’s conception of reason itself historical? Does it make sense to anchor in historical experience the rational instruments that enable us to give meaning to experience?