Certainly, Stephen, Hegel became, almost immediately the day after he died,--out of date.

I recall sitting in the shot-gun seat of the van at work reading the introduction to Hegel's Aesthetics. The driver was our computer operator. Usually people at work don't ask me about what I am reading. But as a computer operator I guess he felt qualified to do so. I said I was reading Hegel's Aesthetics. He looked at me funny--to say: what in the world is aesthetics? So I said there was architecture, sculpture, painting, music, and poetry. Oh, ok, he knew what those things were.

So he asked me what about something or other that was an art having to do with the computer. I explained that the work I was reading was from about 1830. He looked at me like I was crazy. Why would anyone read a book that was almost 200 years old?--such was implied in his look.

Fortunately he never asked me again about what I was reading. But we tend to lose sight of the fact that almost anyone today would consider reading a book from 200 years ago simply crazy--especially if they have some sort of little degree in computer operating or anything of that sort.

John