New Books Network Podcast Summary

Episode Title:

Trevor Wilson, "Alexandre Kojève and the Specters of Russian Philosophy" (Northwestern UP, 2024)
Host: Elisa Kuzmina
Guest: Dr. Trevor Wilson
Date: February 15, 2025

Overview: Main Theme and Purpose

This episode features Dr. Trevor Wilson discussing his new book, Alexandre Kojève and the Specters of Russian Philosophy, which investigates Kojève’s complex intellectual migration from Russia to France, the persistence of Russian philosophical themes in his work, and his enduring influence on 20th-century thought. Wilson and host Elisa Kuzmina explore Kojève’s biography, philosophical legacy, engagement with Hegel, intersections with politics and art, and his ambiguous relationship to Russian and Soviet identities.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Introducing Alexandre Kojève: Two Perspectives

• General Introduction (02:08)
  • Kojève emigrated from Russia after the 1917 revolutions, first to Germany and then to France.
  • Gained prominence in the 1930s through his Paris seminars on Hegel’s Phenomenology of Spirit, which became pivotal for French philosophy.
  • Key philosophical themes: "end of history" and the concept of the "subject and its other"—the way identity is shaped in relation to an external other.

“Two ideas often get associated with Kojève. One is the end of history… The second is this idea of a subject and its other.”
— Dr. Trevor Wilson (05:07)

• Specialist Perspective (for philosophy/continental thinkers)
  • Wilson’s intervention situates Kojève not merely as a Hegel interpreter, but as a pivotal figure negotiating Russian and European philosophical influences.
  • Highlights the Russian intellectual tradition’s ongoing dialogue with Hegel, both in Russian philosophy and Marxism.

The "Specters" of Russian Philosophy

• Concept & Methodology (07:26)
  • Wilson resists essentializing "Russian" versus "French" or "German" thought, instead framing influence as a spectral, lingering presence.
  • Uses "specters" to describe how certain Russian philosophical questions—such as Sophia, subjectivity, and desire—"haunt" Kojève’s work even as he assimilates into French intellectual life.

“Specter I kind of settled on, because while it is not something that immediately is constantly directing and shaping everything that Kojève does, it's this kind of thing that perpetually returns and has some sort of spectral quality...still is a form of influence.”
— Dr. Trevor Wilson (09:25)

Biographical Notes: Name Change and Identity

• Changing Identity (10:11)
  • Kojève adopted his pen name in 1927, marking a symbolic break from his roots after his emigration and divorce.
  • Despite attempts to assimilate, recollections of his students still invoked his "Slavic accent and self-presentation", sometimes playing into stereotypes.

“They [students] always allude to a kind of Slavic...accent and a certain self-presentation…”
— Dr. Trevor Wilson (10:52)

Migration & the Making of European Modernity

• Interwar Europe and Positionality (12:20)
  • The host connects Kojève's experience to broader migratory and modernist trends in Europe (Zweig, Rite of Spring).
  • Wilson posits Kojève as a philosopher enacting, through thought, the same search for identity and alterity that defined broader artistic and social currents.

Art, Family, and Interdisciplinary Connections

• Book Cover & Relationship with Kandinsky (15:00)
  • The book cover, Kandinsky’s "Drei Elementa", symbolizes the intersection of European modernism and Russian émigré experience.
  • Kojève, Kandinsky’s nephew, tried to write a philosophy of his uncle’s painting, comparing "abstract" (figurative) vs. "concrete" (non-figurative) art.

“Kojève was, in his philosophical writings on Kandinsky, trying to basically make the argument that Kandinsky does not do abstract painting, but his paintings are actually concrete paintings.”
— Dr. Trevor Wilson (17:29)

Personal Connections and Archival Research

• Partnerships and Legacy (18:46)
  • Details Kojève’s relationships with his wives and long-term partner, Nina Ivanov, who managed his papers and legacy after his death.
  • Wilson worked with Kojève’s niece to access archives for his research and translations.

The Work of Translation

• Challenges and Discoveries (22:23)
  • Wilson describes the technical and conceptual challenges of translating works in multiple languages (Russian, French, German), grappling with philosophical vocabulary shifts.
  • Noted ongoing translation project: Kojève’s main work on Hegel, never fully translated into English.

“To work with somebody who’s written on philosophy in German, in French and in Russian, you get a sense of how certain concepts change from one articulation to another…”
— Dr. Trevor Wilson (25:20)

Sophia, Stalinism, and Diaspora

• Sophia Manuscript and Identity Politics (26:22)

  • Wilson contextualizes Russian émigré vs. Soviet philosophical traditions post-1920s "Philosopher’s Steamships".
  • Sophia (wisdom) was central for other émigrés; Kojève’s manuscript, however, is unique in exploring Sophia from an atheistic, Marxist perspective and linking it to Stalinism.

• Ambivalence Toward Stalin (31:20)

  • Kojève’s playful yet ambiguous self-characterization as a "right-wing Marxist" led many contemporaries to underestimate his interest in Stalinism.
  • After WWII, Kojève became a significant French diplomat, complicating interpretations of his political sympathies.

“When you look at this Sophia manuscript, I think it’s very clear that he absolutely does take, he takes seriously Stalinism.”
— Dr. Trevor Wilson (33:23)

Kojève’s Legacy: The "End of History" and Beyond

• Posthumous Reinterpretations (35:19)
  • The "end of history" gains prominence during the Cold War, culminating in Francis Fukuyama’s post-Cold War thesis that liberal democracy represents the ‘final form’—using Kojève’s ideas.
  • Wilson cautions against reading this as Kojève’s intention; instead, he argues Kojève’s ambiguity allowed multiple political appropriations, including contemporary Russian theorists who both invoke and move beyond "the end of history" motif.

“I think that Kojève was relatively ambiguous enough that…his theory of history became useful to be used in a number of different…political ideologies…”
— Dr. Trevor Wilson (37:14)

Scholarly Process & Acknowledgments

• Writing Routine and the Labor Behind Scholarship (39:24)
  • Wilson highlights the collaborative, infrastructural nature of academic work, acknowledging local coffee shop staff who provided space and continuity during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Describes early writing mornings with his dog, routine at Espresso Amano (Pittsburgh), and the importance of recognizing service labor behind intellectual production.

“Thinking about how much of the things that we do in academia and the ways that we think and how we write is built upon an infrastructure like that that lets us do it. And I don’t take for granted that I was able to, during a really terrible time in a pandemic, to stay at home and write and think about Russian philosophy…”
— Dr. Trevor Wilson (40:46)

Memorable Quotes & Notable Moments

• On Influence and Specters
  “It’s this kind of thing that perpetually returns and has some spectral quality...still is a form of influence.” (09:25, Wilson)

• On Not Essentializing National Philosophy
  “I didn’t want to make a claim that Russian philosophy is this sort of siloed, specific thing…” (07:26, Wilson)

• On Concrete vs. Abstract Painting
  “Figurative painting is actually abstract painting, because you’re abstracting from the actual existing tree...concrete painting means that you are essentially creating a singular thing that is not representing anything else.” (17:29, Wilson)

• On Kojève and the ‘End of History’
  “I think that Kojève was relatively ambiguous enough that it became like his theory of history became useful to be used in a number of different, different political ideologies.” (37:14, Wilson)

• On the Realities of Academic Labor
  “...Just thinking about how much of the things that we do in academia...is built upon an infrastructure like that that lets us do it...I quite literally could not have written the book without those people being there.” (40:46, Wilson)

Important Timestamps

• 02:08 – General & specialist introduction to Kojève
• 07:26 – The concept and use of “specters” in Wilson’s book
• 10:11 – Kojève’s name change and symbolic rebirth
• 12:20 – Position of Russian émigré intellectuals and Kojève’s identity
• 15:22 – Kandinsky and the significance of the book’s cover art
• 18:46 – Personal relationships and the handling of Kojève’s legacy
• 22:46 – Translating Kojève’s writings and conceptual migration across languages
• 26:53 – Chapter on Sophia and Kojève’s relation to Stalin and Soviet structures
• 31:50 – Ambiguous political allegiances and Western perceptions
• 35:19 – The “end of history” and Kojève’s influence on political theorists
• 39:24 – Wilson’s writing routine and the invisible labor supporting scholarship

Structure

1. Introducing Kojève (02:08–06:47)

• Life trajectory, intellectual context, migratory experience

2. “Specters” and Intellectual Influence (06:47–09:58)

• Avoiding essentialism, the concept of spectral influence

3. Identity, Migration, and Self-Presentation (10:11–12:20)

• Naissance of Kojève’s French persona, recollections of colleagues

4. Interwar Europe and Modernity (12:20–15:00)

• Migration, alterity, and formation of new cultural forms

5. Art, Family, and Book Imagery (15:00–17:29)

• Kojève’s relationship with Kandinsky, philosophical debates over abstraction

6. Personal Relationships and Legacy (18:46–22:23)

• Marriages, archival stewardship, and legacy management

7. Translation Work and Archival Research (22:23–26:22)

• Multilingual challenges, dissemination of previously untranslated texts

8. Sophia and Stalinism (26:53–34:26)

• Emigrant vs. Soviet philosophical lines, Kojève’s political writings and intrigue

9. Kojève’s Legacy: The “End of History” (34:56–38:33)

• Posthumous influence on Western and Russian theorists

10. Writing Process and Acknowledgments (38:33–42:13)

• Pandemic-era scholarly routines, importance of service labor

This episode offers both a detailed intellectual map of Kojève’s place in 20th-century philosophy and a reflection on how ideas migrate, mutate, and return as “specters” in new times and places. Dr. Wilson’s approach is scholarly yet accessible, making this a compelling resource for students, scholars, and intellectually curious listeners alike.