Hegel occupies a unique position within the development of Derrida’s thought, for Hegel is both the antithesis of deconstruction and its very point of departure. Derida has stressed from his earliest work to his book-length study of Hegel, Glas, that we must come to terms with Hegel’s work. For one of the fundamental tasks of deconstruction is to settle accounts with Hegel and his legacy. This tension has been an essential but crucially overlooked feature of Derrida’s work and is addressed for the first time in this fascinating collection. Hegel After Derrida presents eleven outstanding essays by some of the key commentators on continental philosophy today and approaches the Hegel–Derrida question from three vantage points. Part One presents readings of Hegel that pursue lines of thought opened up by Derrida. Part Two investigates the implications of Derrida’s work on Hegel for our understanding of Marx and Freud. Part Three, a central feature of the book, is devoted to the contemporary significance of Glas, Derrida’s full-length study of Hegel.

Hegel After Derrida provides a much-needed investigation not only of the importance of Hegel and the importance of Derrida’s work on Hegel but also of the very foundations of postmodern and deconstructionist thought. It will be essential reading for all those engaged with the work of Derrida and Hegel as welt as anyone seeking to explore some of the basic but neglected aspects of deconstruction.