Hegel was the last thinker and philosopher of the modern era who opened a new path (school) of thought, developing a philosophy based on freedom within a broader philosophical system. He dealt with many topics to which he gave new dimensions (from property to ethics and the state). Idealist and inspired by Christianity, he engaged with logic, nature, humanity, and the Divine through a dialectical scheme, based on which he moved from thesis to antithesis to return to his original thesis, which he had enriched and elevated.

Clearly influenced by the ancient Greek dialectic of Heraclitus, Zeno of Elea, and of course Plato, among others, modern dialectics has been directly linked to Hegelian methodology. Hegel was arguably the most systematic of the post-Kantian idealists, and it is even considered that the so-called German idealism essentially ended with his death. The influence he exerted and the reactions he provoked were enormous, from Karl Marx to Charles Taylor, among others.

In "Hegel: Prefaces and Introductions," the texts (prefaces and introductions to his works) are gathered in which Hegel embodies the essence of what he analyzes as well as the way (methodology) he approaches them.