This third volume of Hegel’s Philosophy of Nature presents a critical and comprehensive edition of secondary sources compiled by Hegel’s disciple, Carl Ludwig Michelet, who added significant supplementary material to the second part of Hegel’s Encyclopaedia of the Philosophical Sciences (1830). In previous volumes, all known student transcripts from Hegel’s Berlin lectures on natural philosophy were published. This edition now turns to Michelet’s extensive additions, which he gathered from a range of historical sources, including Hegel’s early Jena manuscripts, Berlin lecture notes, several of Hegel’s own drafts and remarks, and selected transcripts from student notes on Hegel’s lectures. These additions illuminate Hegel’s system of natural philosophy, connecting abstract philosophical categories with the empirical sciences.
This volume presents Michelet’s additions in full, accompanied by a critical apparatus indicating the precise location of each source text within Hegel’s Collected Works. This historical-critical framework offers invaluable insight into the development and structure of Hegel’s natural philosophy, grounding it within the broader dialectical system that permeates his thought. The detailed footnotes and philological rigor of this edition make it an essential tool for scholars who seek to understand both the evolution of Hegelian philosophy and Michelet’s interpretative contributions, which were highly influential in shaping Hegel’s reception.
The organization of this text is methodically designed to enhance comprehension, with introductory sections on the secondary sources, followed by Michelet’s extensive additions, which cover Hegel’s approach to mechanics, physics, and organic processes. These sections underscore Hegel’s goal of integrating the natural sciences within a dialectical framework, ultimately aiming to reveal nature’s underlying unity and rational structure. An appendix includes a guide to symbols, abbreviations, and editorial markings, making the language and concepts of Hegelian philosophy more accessible to readers.
This volume is an indispensable resource for advanced readers and scholars interested in Hegel’s Philosophy of Nature, offering both a reliable foundation for further philological study and a deeper understanding of the themes and structure that underpin Hegel’s integration of philosophy with the empirical sciences.
Simon Gros 
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