How did Wilhelm Dilthey’s study of Hegel’s early manuscripts change Hegel scholarship?

Wilhelm Dilthey’s 1905 re-examination of Hegel’s early manuscripts, followed by the publication of Hegels theologische Jugendschriften (1907), fundamentally altered Hegel scholarship by initiating a "Hegel renaissance" in Germany.12

Before this study, these unpublished writings were known only through fragmentary notices. Dilthey’s work shifted the focus of inquiry in several key ways:

• Contrast with Maturity: The manuscripts were contrasted with Hegel’s mature, systematic works. They were characterized as lacking systematic preoccupations and instead dealing with ethics, religion, and history through rich, often mystic discourse.1
• Historical Context: Scholars began investigating the historical matrices of Hegel’s intellectual culture, specifically the late Enlightenment and dawning Romanticism.12
• New Interpretive Themes: Dilthey’s monograph highlighted irrationalistic and vitalistic aspects of the young Hegel’s thought. This opened new avenues for research, including investigations into pre-existentialist attitudes and the genetic reconstruction of Hegel’s political and philosophical development.12

This shift moved the field toward philology, textual publication, and historical analysis, moving away from the purely logical or systematic focus of earlier Neo-Hegelian interpretations.2