The Black Circle: A Life of Alexandre Kojève

by Jeff Love

Alexandre Kojève (1902–1968) was a thinker of many contradictions. Born in Russia, he spent most of his life in France. His interpretation of Hegel and his notorious declaration that history had come to an end had a major influence on French thinkers and writers such as Raymond Aron, Georges Bataille, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Jacques Lacan, and Raymond Queneau. An unorthodox Marxist, he was a critic of Martin Heidegger and interlocutor of Leo Strauss who played a leading role in establishing the European Economic Community; a polyglot with many arcane interests, he wrote works, mostly unpublished, on quantum physics, the problem of the infinite, Christian theology, Mahayana Buddhism, atheism, and Vassily Kandinsky’s paintings.

In The Black Circle, Jeff Love reinterprets Kojève’s works, showing him to be a provocative thinker who challenged modern society and its valuation of individuality, self-interest, and freedom from death. Emphasizing Kojève’s neglected Russian roots, The Black Circle puts him in the context of the late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century Russian debates over the proper ends of human life. Love explores notions of perfection, freedom, and finality in Kojève’s account of Hegel and his neglected later works, clarifying Kojève’s emancipatory thinking and the meaning of the oft-misinterpreted “end of history.” Joining intellectual history, close textual analysis, and philosophy to reassess an essential modern theorist, The Black Circle reveals Kojève’s thought as a profound critique of capitalist individualism and a timely meditation on human freedom.

Genres: Biography, Philosophy, Nonfiction, 21st Century, History

376 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 10, 2018

Reviews

[Benji · Rating 4 out of 5]

Somewhat repetitive (:

[Ethan Rogers · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a study of the thought of Alexandre Kojeve, an intriguing Russian, French, Hegelian, European bureaucrat, who may or may not have been some kind of Stalinist. I was excited by some sections, like the discussions of how dramatically Kojeve rebels against the modern or postmodern rejection of closure. Kojeve is committed to showing that it is possible for their to be a total truth that is revealed at the end of history, and he is fascinated by the paradoxes of this belief. At the same time, I found some of Love's arguments perplexing. For instance Love maintains that it is a core thesis of Kojeve that humanity overcomes itself in a kind of suicide at the end of history. But Love consistently portrays this self overcoming as a bad thing, and honestly, both the position attributed to Kojeve and Love's critique of it felt undermotivated to me. I wasn't convinced that Kojeve shares the same intuitions that persuade Love that such overcoming would be a disaster for humanity or that I should share them. This is however, a dense book, so this could be my fault.

[Marco Sán Sán]

Esperaba una biografía clásica, de hecho la necesitaba de este ruso tan enigmático pero pues no, esto es una interpretación aguda de su obra, no desencaminada sino muy bien cimentada de un discurso que adrede fue inconcluso.

Partiendo desde la apertura Love hila y define una intencionalidad, no buscada pero prudente del discurso de Kojève, una introducción a su introducción paradigmático pero quien busca originalidad, interpreta sin saber.

No me disgusta la interpretación pero un mayor enfoque a la vida del filósofo habría sido de agradecer.

Si Kojève se quiere leer y si su introducción se aleja mucho esta podría ser una puerta para su pensamiento con la precaución que está puerta tiene respuestas y Kojève no planeta ninguna.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

takes too long to get to kojeve himself, and v slow/dense but good

[A. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Step One: Use rhetorical questions and pedantry to paper over one's shallow understanding of one's subject matter.

Step Two: ???

Step Three: Profit.