A Famous Enigma: On Alexandre Kojève
7 days ago
- #End of History
- #Postmodernism
- #Philosophy
- Alexandre Kojève, a philosopher often invoked but rarely read, has recently been the subject of two intellectual biographies: Marco Filoni’s 'The Life and Thought of Alexandre Kojève' and Boris Groys’ 'Alexandre Kojève: An Intellectual Biography'.
- Kojève is recognized as a key figure in postmodernism and a critic of late capitalism, foreseeing the exhaustion of resources and the subsumption of human life under automation.
- Kojève’s concept of the 'end of history' was famously misrepresented by Francis Fukuyama, who linked it to the triumph of liberal democracy, whereas Kojève’s original idea was more nuanced and ironic.
- Kojève’s life was marked by dramatic events, including his escape from Russia, his studies in Germany, and his involvement in the French Resistance during WWII, all of which influenced his philosophical outlook.
- Kojève’s philosophy centers on the idea of human 'negativity' and the struggle for recognition, with Groys interpreting his work as a philosophy of uncertainty and the embrace of nothingness.
- Kojève’s political ambiguity and his roles in both the Resistance and the Vichy regime highlight his complex relationship with power and bureaucracy, which he saw as completing history.
- Filoni’s biography is noted for its scholarly rigor and access to Kojève’s archives, while Groys’ book offers a more creative and accessible interpretation, though it reflects as much on Groys as on Kojève.
- Kojève’s aesthetics, influenced by his uncle Kandinsky, posits art as a revelation of nothingness, with beauty being its sole purpose, reflecting his vision of posthistory where human life fades into images and words.