InHegels Idea of the Good Life, Joshua D. Goldstein presents the first book-length study of the development and meaning of Hegels account of human flourishing. This volume will be welcomed by philosophers and political theorists seeking to engage with the details of Hegels early and mature social thought.

By bringing Hegels earliest writings into dialogue with hisPhilosophy of Right, Goldstein argues that Hegels mature political philosophy should be understood as a response to his youthful failure to build a sustainable account of the good life upon the foundations of ancient virtue. This study reveals how Hegels mature response integrates ancient concerns for the well-ordered life and modern concerns for autonomy in a new, robust conception of selfhood that can be actualized across the full expanse of the modern political community.

THE DEVELOPMENT AND DECLINE OF AN ARISTOTELIAN IDEA OF THE GOOD LIFE, 1793 TO 1800.- THE HUMAN SPIRIT AND FOLK-RELIGION: THE TÜBINGEN ESSAY OF 1793.- DISCOVERING THE COMMUNITY: THE BERNE FRAGMENTS OF 1794.- THE END OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT: THE LIFE OF JESUS OF 1795.- FREEDOM AND THE COMPLETION OF ARISTOTELIAN VIRTUE, 1821.- THE MATURE FOUNDATION OF THE GOOD LIFE: SPIRIT AND FREEDOM.- THE LIVING FORM OF THE GOOD LIFE.- THE IDEA OF THE GOOD LIFE.