Wow! eBook
Alexandre Kojève and the Specters of Russian Philosophy
Author(s): Trevor Wilson (Author)
- Publisher: Northwestern University Press
- Publication Date: November 15, 2024
- Language: English
- Print length: 200 pages
- ISBN-10: 0810147793
- ISBN-13: 9780810147799
Book Description
Recounts Kojève’s key role in the pivotal exchange of ideas between Eastern and Western European intellectuals in the early twentieth century
This book shines critical new light on the story of Alexandre Kojève’s intellectual origins and his role in the emigration of Russian philosophy into the West in the early twentieth century. Trevor Wilson illustrates how Kojève, at once adversarial to the insular communities of émigré philosophy and yet dependent on their networks and ideas for professional success, navigated the specters of the Russian tradition in pursuit of an autonomous self-definition as a philosopher and intellectual.
Alexandre Kojève and the Specters of Russian Philosophy analyzes the philosopher’s complicated relationship to the interwar diaspora and the complex role played by the Russian tradition in his intellectual formation. Wilson examines Kojève’s early writings in the émigré press on Russian religious philosophy, Soviet politics, and Eurasianism and argues for their enduring relevance for understanding Kojève in his mature period. Crucially, he contextualizes Kojève’s famed seminars on Hegel and examines how Kojève’s thought became embedded in the politics of the Cold War. Based on newly transcribed and translated archival material, he highlights a previously unacknowledged, transnational exchange of ideas between Eastern and Western European intellectuals and shows how it played a pivotal role in twentieth-century intellectual history—and its legacy in the twenty-first.
Editorial Reviews
Review
“A rich and complex history that weaves together several different contexts: Hegelianism in its Russian and European legacies, Russian philosophical and religious thought from
the 1830s to the 1930s, Russian émigré culture in interwar Europe, French thought of the interwar and postwar periods, and Cold War politics and ideologies. Wilson handles all these contexts expertly and deftly.”―Russian Review
“In this fine and learned new book, Trevor Wilson adroitly addresses to what extent was Kojève influenced by various Russian intellectuals and political actors rather than just Hegel, Marx, Heidegger, and the Greeks. Wilson surveys a broad and impressive array of sources and scholarship to identify Kojève’s Russian roots, and his argument merits serious consideration for anyone hoping to understand this most fascinating twentieth-century philosopher. Indeed, this book will certainly command the attention of English, French, and Russian scholars when it comes to ascertaining accurately Kojève’s philosophic pedigree and the wide-ranging influence he continues to generate today.”―Bryan-Paul Frost, University of Louisiana at Lafayette
“An impressive work that reflects and engages with sustained and solid scholarship, Alexandre Kojève and the Specters of Russian Philosophy lucidly presents a fascinating and unique piece of intellectual history.”—Henry Pickford, Duke University
About the Author
TREVOR WILSON is an assistant professor in the Department of Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures at Virginia Tech University.
