Philosophical Thought’s Dialectical Movement: The Genesis of the Knowledge System in Alexander Kojève’s Philosophy. Article Two: Discourse Synthesis

The article delves into the historical-philosophical framework developed by Alexandre Kojève, a French Neo-Hegelian thinker, known as The Knowledge System. This project is rooted in Hegelian inspiration and seeks to comprehensively elucidate the historical trajectory of philosophical discourse. The subsequent segment of the article serves to encapsulate and evaluate Kojève’s scheme of philosophical evolution. Central to this analysis is the examination of the interconnectedness and fusion of theological, scientific, and moral discourses within Kojève’s historical-philosophical milieu. This exploration sheds light on Kojève’s conception of Hegelian anthropotheism. Kojève’s methodological approach to the history of philosophy stands out for its departure from the conventional narrative of uninterrupted intellectual lineage from ancient Greece. Instead, he highlights a pivotal shift catalyzed by the advent of Christianity, which amalgamates elements from Hellenic pagan philosophy and Jewish monotheism. To underscore the divergence between Kojève’s perspectives on ancient philosophy (as well as subsequent periods) and those of established scholars, we draw upon Richard Rorty’s framework of the four genres of historiography in contemporary philosophy. According to Rorty, Kojève’s historical-philosophical framework aligns with Geistesgeschichte, or the «history of the human spirit».