Authority, History, and Political Theology

Isabel Jacobs is a Research Fellow at the Institute of Philosophy, Czech Academy of Sciences, Czech Republic, and a Research Scholar at the Northwestern University Research Initiative in Russian Philosophy, Literature, and Religious Thought.Jacob Saliba is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the University of Notre Dame, USA, co-sponsored by the Global Catholic Research Initiative and the Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism.

• IntroductionPart One: Reviews 1. Alexandre Kojève, “Review of Two Books by Gaston Fessard” (1936/7) 2. Alexandre Kojève, “Christianity and Communism” (1946) 3. Alexandre Kojève, “Hegel, Marx, and Christianity” (1946) 4. Gaston Fessard, “Review of Henri Niel, On Mediation in Hegel’s Philosophy” (1946) 5. Gaston Fessard, “Two Interpreters of Hegel’s Phenomenology: Jean Hyppolite and Alexandre Kojève” (1947)Part Two: Lectures6. Gaston Fessard, “Revolution and Persecution: The Principle of a Political Decision” (1938)7. Gaston Fessard, “Preparatory Notes for a Presentation at the Final Session of the Hegel Seminar” (May 1939) 8. Gaston Fessard, “Hegel” (1948) 9. Gaston Fessard, “Introduction to Alexandre Kojève’s Lecture at the Seminary of Chantilly” (February 6, 1965) 10. Alexandre Kojève, “The Structure and History of Philosophy” (1965)Part Three: Correspondence (1934-1968)AppendicesAppendix I: Gaston Fessard, “A Phenomenology of Existence: The Philosophy of R. Le Senne” (1935) Appendix II: Gaston Fessard, “The Problem of the End of History” (c. 1960–73)

These documents of the dialogue between philosophers Alexandre Kojève and Gaston Fessard get to the heart of questions concerning how we make sense of our lives in relation to the meaning of history. They are a welcome addition to the intellectual history of 20th century France.