This edited volume addresses Alexandre Kojeve's work from different perspectives, emphasizing the continuity between his early reception of a set of non-philosophical and philosophical influences and that which he might have sought himself to exercise in a pedagogical and practical manner. The first part of the book comprises six essays in which their authors explore Kojeve's understanding of art, religion and atheism, and his reception of the thought of Hegel, Marx, and Carl Schmitt. The book's second part is made up by two contributions that tackle respectively Kojeve's conceptions of the "end of history" and "empire" in the light of his notion of Sophia or "Wisdom", and his understanding of the relationship between philosophy and power in the light of an exegetical reading of the debate he held with Leo Strauss. The authors of the final three essays set out to explore the extent to which Kojeve's previous processing of a set of non-philosophical and philosophical influences might have resulted in three increasingly concrete outcomes, namely: his notion of authority; the Lacanian mirror-stage; and global trade.

About the Author

Luis J. Pedrazuela is currently a research fellow at the University of Leeds.

Reviews

This is a stimulating collection that sheds new light on Kojeve's thought and activity. The contributions do justice to the remarkable range and continued relevance of the enigmatic figure.

-- Svetozar Minkov, Roosevelt University

This is a wide-ranging, informative, and provocative collection of essays, well organized and integrated so as to shed much needed light on the thought of the greatest Hegelian of the twentieth century.

-- Thomas L. Pangle, University of Texas at Austin

Alexandre Kojeve is well known for having introduced a whole generation of French philosophers to an existentialist version of Hegel's system. One of the great merits of the collection of essays gathered by Luis J. Pedrazuela is to highlight the breadth of Kojeve's work besides his lectures on Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit. The contributions to this collective book draw attention to other important writings by Kojeve such as his Notion of Authority and his Outline of a Phenomenology of Right. They enrich our understanding of the philosophical Twentieth Century by placing these works in the context of Kojeve's exchanges and correspondence with some of his contemporaries, particularly Leo Strauss and Carl Schmitt.

-- Vincent Descombes, Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris

These articles on Alexandre Kojeve range from the relation of his thought to other thinkers (Hegel, Marx, Strauss, Schmitt, Lacan) to his understanding of the deepest roots of political life (authority, and right or justice); from his practical concerns with economic issues whose resolution could help lead (via European integration) in the direction of a peaceful global order to the character of art toward the end of its historical development. The collection testifies to scholars' ongoing fruitful fascination with this brilliant, paradoxical, and profound philosopher.

-- James H. Nichols Jr., Claremont McKenna College



Book Information
ISBN 9781793654465
Author Luis J. Pedrazuela
Format Hardback
Page Count 260
Imprint Lexington Books
Publisher Lexington Books
Weight(grams) 576g
Dimensions(mm) 238mm * 159mm * 25mm