This history of ideas considers the impact of Hegel on French philosophy from the 1920s to the beginning of the 21st century. As Baugh's narrative makes clear, Hegel's influence on French philosophy has been profound, and can be traced through all the major intellectual movements and thinkers in France throughout the 20th century from Jean Wahl, Sartre and Bataille to Foucault, Deleuze and Derrida. Baugh focuses on Hegel's idea of the unhappy consciousness and provides a bold account of Hegel's early reception in French intellectual history.

This history of ideas considers the impact of Hegel on French philosophy from the 1920s to the present. As the narrative makes clear, Hegel's influence on French philosophy has been profound, and can be traced through all the major intellectual movements and thinkers in France throughout the 20th century from Jean Wahl, Sartre, and Bataille to Foucault, Deleuze, and Derrida. Baugh focuses on Hegel's idea of the unhappy consciousness.