Aristotle in the Lectures of Alexandre Kojève: The Master-Slave Dialectic

Abstract

The article analyzes the course of lectures by Alexandre Kojève (1933‒1939) as a historiographical material for modern Aristotelian studies. Special atten tion is paid to Kojève's critical argumentation, which he deploys, comprehend ing Aristotelian justification of slavery and mastery by nature. It should be considered that Aristotle is not the central figure in these lectures, he is inter esting for Kojève not himself, but in dialectical comparison with Hegel’s, his torical in its essence, concept of “slave and master”. Developing an original philosophy of history, Kojève criticizes the definitions of man presented by Aristotle in “Politics”, but at the same time, he partially accepts the political ideas of Aristotle. According to Kojève, to be a slave or a master “by nature” means to correspond to one's destiny. But at the same time, it is the masterslave relationship that Kojève presents as the basis of the historical process. From his point of view, “the struggle for recognition”, “historicism and the end of history”, “mortal risk”, etc. are the concepts that are designed to resolve the contradictions of Aristotle's doctrine of the state. Common to Aristotle and Kojève is the definition of the essence of man through politics and logos (speech), allowing to comprehend the relationship of slave and master dialectically. The undertaken analysis of this Kojève’s dual relation to Aristotle's ideas al lows to reveal a complex of various preconditions, proceeding from which, Kojève interprets Hegel's philosophy of history.