As Richard Bernstein has suggested, there is a very rich and interesting story to be told about how the classical pragmatists (Dewey, Peirce, and ames) understood G. W. R Hegel, made use of Hegel, and ultimately distanced themselves from Hegel. That story cannot be told here. Indeed, the story is so rich and complicated that even its beginnings cannot be told here. But what can be provided, perhaps, is a limited, though hope- fully illuminating, perspective on a few salient aspects of the relationship between the classical pragmatists and Hegel. While the following reflec- tions offer no definitive answers about this relationship, they might at least suggest some fruitful lines of enquiry for future discussion.