Author: Kira

Proposal Submission Deadline: June 15, 2021

September 1-3, 2021 (Online)

Keynote Speakers: Boris Groys (NYU) and Massimo Palma (Naples)

Alexandre Kojève is widely recognized as one of the most influential thinkers of the 20th century. Indeed, the breadth of his work, which spans from a phenomenology of religion, through theoretical considerations on modern art, to one of the first philosophical treatments of quantum physics, would seem to justify this reputation. Regardless, the reception of his thought tends to be restricted to a single dimension concerning his lectures on Hegel and their ongoing influence. As a result, most accounts of Kojève’s philosophy begin and end with an analysis of his commentary on Hegel—a tendency that, until quite recently, has gone largely unchallenged.  

The goal is to bring together those who are currently engaged with elements of Kojève’s oeuvre that have, at least up to now, been relegated to the status of ‘minor works’. These include, but are not limited to, his early ruminations on the philosophy of in-existence found in his “Diary of a Philosopher”, philosophy of religion (Solov’ev, atheism), philosophy of science (quantum physics, determinism), aesthetics (Kandinsky, Surrealism), political philosophy (authority, right), and ontology found in his so-called “attempt” at a system of knowledge. We also, of course, welcome scholarship that makes use of his many scattered writings in the form of letters, reviews, short essays and presentations.