As soon as one begins to think about Hegel's project, a family of problems arises. The project might, for example, seem alien, threatening, or misguided. Even before the problems are clearly formulated, they can produce the conviction that the project cannot be taken seriously. The mere sense that the problems exist is an impediment. But perhaps we would be less inclined to dismiss Hegel's project if we were to arrive at a better understanding of what these problems are. There would still, of course, be questions concerning how we are to regard Hegel's project ultimately, but we could, at least, begin by taking the project seriously. What we need to do, then, is to consider whether there may not be an initial way of addressing these difficulties that would make it possible for us to approach Hegel's project in a serious way. Considering these problems should also have the further, desirable effect of drawing us into Hegel's project. I will begin by considering five sorts of difficulties Hegel's project may raise.

The problem of foreignness

The first problem is that Hegel's project may seem alien. There are at least three reasons why this may appear to be so.

Hegel's project may seem alien, or foreign, first of all, because the very idea of the ‘social world’ may seem alien. What are we talking about when we talk about the social world? We can start by saying that the expression refers to society or a society of a certain type.