Kojeve's Interpretation of Hegel's Master Slave Dialectic

Known for being an idiosyncratic interpreter of Hegel, Russian-born French philosopher Alexandre Kojeve brought about the "Hegelian turn" in 20th century French philosophy through his series of lectures on "The Phenomenology of Spirit". He read Hegel through the lens of both Marx and Heidegger, culminating in what is now regarded as the original interpretation of Hegel. 

George Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel was a German philosopher, best known for his contributions of the Hegelian triad (theis, anti-thesis, synthesis), philosophy of spirit, master-slave dialectic, among others. Hegel thought of human history as the history of thought. Humans try to understand themselves in relation to the world. Though the world started off with unity, it wasn't long before humans started understanding themselves as an "I". A form of identity was given to oneself, which introduced dualism in what was originally a unified world. So, history becomes a history of reason, wherein the "I" or the individual is constantly trying to understand itself in relation to the world, nature, and most importantly, other "I"s (individuals).  Whenever these "I"s or individuals are confronted with one another, each views the other as distinct from themselves. The other is seen as different from oneself, the other becomes the object while your own "I" is the subject. This leads to many dualisms, which simply means that the unity which the world originally started off with is constantly bifurcated into more and more divisions. If you view the other as an object, the other "I" is also viewing you as an object. The concept of the "other" seen here has a striking similarity to Sartre, which is not surprising since Hegel did influence the 20th century French philosophy to quite an extent. 

These divisions or "I"s eventually take part in a reconciliation process (they confront each other, talk it out, etc) and this in turn produces more divisions, and then these divisions are again attempted to be reconciled through thought. This is why Hegel calls the historical movement a dialectical process. Human history is a history of thought, and the historical movement of thought is a dialectical process.

"Genuine tragedies in the world are not conflicts between right and wrong. They are conflicts between two rights." -G.W.F Hegel

This reconciliation has taken several forms, whether it be art, religion, philosophy. The Enlightenment philosophy is considered one of the best examples of this reconcilliation process (synthesizing the ideas of God, reason, nature, and humanity) which sought to 'reconcile' or mediate between conflicting "I"s or individuals in a world ; and helped situate them in relation to the world. For Hegel, the potential of "historical reconciliation" can be actualized by realizing the underlying unity the world started off with- the underlying unity is manifested as an absolute spirit or "geist" which leads humanity to live with a shared morality (without a need for further reconciliation), and thus, the end of history; for human history is a history of thought. 

It is this "end of history" thesis which is attributed to Kojeve as he advanced the idea that ideological history had ended with the French Revolution and violence is no longer a prerequisite to establish the supremacy of "rights and equal recognition". 

Keeping in mind Hegel's historical movement of thought, zoom in on the conflict between the two "I"s or individuals which view others as objects; this is Hegel's Master Slave Dialectic. Kojeve has interpreted this by combining the labour philosophy of Marx and Being-toward-death concept of Heidegger. 

Concept of Self Consciousness and Desire

Humans are different from animals because they are self-conscious, and Hegel shows why this is the case.

A knowing subject (human being, "I") loses him/herself in the object which is to be known. This is not a dramatic interpretation of losing oneself, rather of losing the subjective reality of oneself, the "I". A knowing subject loses himself in the object because the act of contemplation reveals only objects, not subjects. The subject will be "brought back" to oneself, meaning, will recognize their subjective reality of "I" by Desire. Desire is the negation of the object, or the other. It is negation because Desire allows one to return back to their subjective reality, to know that they are an "I" and not an object. 

This Desire leads to action. So, all action is negating, because it negates the object. Action is thus both a destructive act (destructs the objectivity) and constructive act (constructs the subjective reality out of negation). However, to be self-conscious desire has to be a non-natural object, because only a non-natural object will be devoid of recognizing its own "I". It has to be beyond reality. The only thing beyond given reality is Desire itself. 

"Self consciousness is desiring Desire, another's Desire, negating negativity"- Kojeve 

The Desire of each individual must be directed towards the Desire of other individuals. 

"Human history is the history of desired Desires."

In a way, self consciousness feeds on Desires. In this human Desire, an individual desires recognition by another. 

A necessary comparison is drawn between Human and Animal Desire to situate the importance of recognition (and explain why humans are self-conscious). 

In animal Desire, the only valuable sentiment is one's own life. The final analysis of Desire is to preserve one's own life. So, there is no self-consciousness.

In anthropogenic or human Desire, Desire is beyond the purpose of preserving life. According to Hegel, a human can fight to death for recognition and life preservation is not the ultimate goal (like it is for animals). Recognition holds extreme importance. Desire for objects is only relevant to the extent that other humans are also Desiring the same objects. For example, a medal or an award. The object of a medal or award is only Desired because there is another "I" Desiring it. So, human history is a history of desired Desires. 

There are a few points of commonality between human and animal Desires. Both try to satisfy desire by negating or transforming action. While humans feed on Desires, animals feed on real things (ex. food). 

Apart from this, humans are distinct because of their self-consciousness. To be truly "human" and have humanity "come to light" is to risk animal life for the sake of human Desire; (to risk one's life for the sake of recognition). It is because of this risk, that human reality is created. 

So, the origin or genesis of self consciousness lies in the risk of life, or the fight to death for recognition. Desire, thus, generates Self Consciousness. 

Recognition

All human desire is a function of Desire for recognition. There is this self-certainty in individuals that the universe is ours and we are the universe. A conflict ensues when an individual encounters another being with consciousness who also thinks the same. This is where the fight for recognition begins. This Desire for recognition is self consciousness. Human beings are humans only because of their Desire to be recognized. They can put oneself and others in danger to be recognized. 

With this context, Hegel's Master Slave Dialectic is formulated.

Master Slave Dialectic 

The Master Slave Dialectic is properly known as Lordship and Bondage, a concept elemental to Hegelian thought. This dialectic illustrates the development of Self Consciousness due to an encounter between two distinct self conscious beings. The essence of this "dialectic" movement is to go towards recognition; the two beings want to be recognized by the other. 

This movement, taken to its extreme, takes the form of a "struggle to death". One of the two adversaries gives up and assumes the role of a slave, while the other of the master. Here, a few hypotheticals are taken into account. If the fight to death results in the death of both, this becomes problematic because no one is left to recognize or be recognized. If the fight to death results in the death of one, it is again problematic because the survivor will be unable to be recognized. So, it is necessary for both adversaries to remain alive after the fight; one must give up and refuse to risk his life for the sake of being recognized. 

Kojeve interprets this in the sense that every human is never simply a human. Each individual is either Master or Slave. The only human reality is a social reality. The Master is autonomous existence, the Slave is a dependent existence. So,  Self Consciousness is either one of autonomy (like the Master) or of dependency (like the Slave). For Kojeve, this interaction of the Master and Slave is a historical dialectic. This can end only in "dialectical overcoming" of both. An individual is human only when he/she is recognized, self-consciousness only exists as an entity who is recognized. 

Stages of Interaction between Master and Slave

Hegel's Myth refers to the story narrated to explain the various stages of the Master-Slave Dialectic. 

Stage 1: Reaction

In this stage, an individual is confronted with another. These individuals exist for the other as objects. They are presented to the other as animal life; one sees the other only as an animal. They have not yet manifested themselves as Being-for-itself (self conscious). Each individual has only subjective certainty of its own self, but their reality will not become knowledge unless it is objectively recognized. Both individuals want to be objectively/intersubjectively certain of their reality. Meaning, they want to be universally recognized. So, they impose themselves onto the other. 

Stage 2: Death Struggle

A struggle to death ensues between the two. Both want to be "Being for itself" and not bound to any determined existence. A double activity takes place, where they risk one's own life and seek death of the other. Kojeve holds that humans are obliged to start this fight. It is only by risking one's life that they "come to light". Only by risking their lives does their self consciousness become "being for itself", where they are not worried about preserving their own life (like animals) but being recognized. 

Until the other does not recognize them, they are "being-outside-of-himself." However, to be recognized by another consciousness, and not an animal object, one needs to accept that the other also wants to be recognized, and is ready to risk his life. Keeping in line with the two hypotheticals, if both die then there is no objective reality to prove and there is also a loss of one's own subjectivity. If only one dies, the victory has no truth. This is abstract negation. The achievement of self-consciousness in this case has no meaning for there is no one left to recognize the one who is alive. 

So, both adversaries must overcome dialectically. They must overcome by preserving what is overcome. One should be left alive but his autonomy should be destroyed (enslavement). 

Stage 3: Enslavement and Mastery

In this stage, defeat of one adversary means that the individual does not want to go all the way in risking his life; he does not want to rise above the level of animals. When this defeat takes place, the two individuals enter into the Master-Slave relation. The Master is the autonomous consciousness (being-for-itself) and the Slave is a dependent consciousness (being-for-another-entity). 

Stage 4: Contradiction

This stage characterizes what is possibly the most suspenseful element of Hegelian Dialectic. The Master's recognition by the Slave is based on the pain by death. Which means, the Master's self consciousness is dependent on the Slave.

There are two levels of mediation which occur in the Master-Slave scenario:

1) The Slave mediates between the Master, and the objects of Desire. Meaning, the Slave handles and transforms objects for the Master, for the Master's enjoyment. This literal analogy is given to contextualize that the Slave, once taken as a Slave by the Master, will be subject to atrocities, and in this case, as a labourer who crafts the Master's objects of desire. 

2) The Master, on the other hand, is only a Master because there is a Slave who recognizes him as a Master. The Master has his being only through the Slave. 

Recognition, thus, is one-sided. The Master doesn't recognize the Slave's human reality and dignity, which means that the Master is recognized by someone he doesn't recognize. (Tragic)

The Master is recognized by a thing. His Desire (to be recognized) is directed towards a thing and not what he initially desired (which was to be recognized by another subjective reality, another conscious being). So, the Master's truth is the truth of the Slave and the Slave's work. The Master is a Master only because of a Slave. 

"Truth of autonomous consciousness is slavish consciousness."

Kojeve interprets this through the Marxist lens. Laborious slavery is the source of all human, social, historical progress. "History is the history of the working slave."

Stage 5: Resolution

The one "advantage" the Slave has over the Master is that the Slave knows the value and reality of autonomy of human freedom. The Slave cannot experience this value (yet) but he aspires to. A second "advantage" the Slave has is the ability to transform the given world by work. 

The Master, on the other hand, can be killed, but not educated or transformed. The Slave did not bind himself to the Master or his own slavery. The Slave is ready for change. He worked with nature (to create objects for the enjoyment of the Master) but he created these through his own creativity. The Slave sees himself reflected in what he has created; the world around him is created by his own hands. He is no longer alienated from his own labour, he has self-consciousness. It is the Master who is enslaved by the labour of the Slave. 

It is only after working for the Master that the Slave understands the necessity of a fight. The terror of the Master is the beginning of Wisdom. The Master is a sine qua non (essential condition) for human progress. It is the slave's work that realizes and perfects this progress. The Slave transforms himself by transforming things, the world around him. He becomes objectively real because he has a unique craft, a unique purpose, a unique significance which is reflected in the objects of his creation. 

A satisfied individual is always a Slave, who dialectically overcomes his slavery. 

Kojeve's Interpretation 

Kojeve regarded the Master as a catalyst in historical progress. The Master does not participate actively but without him, the process is not possible. It is slavish consciousness which realizes and reveals the autonomous self consciousness, and thus is its truth. People were born and history began with the first struggle, which resulted in the first masters and slaves. History will come to an end when there are no slaves left for the masters and no masters left for the slaves; a synthesis. 

"Humankind has not liberated itself from servitude but by means of servitude."- Hegel

The Master Slave Dialectic is the template on which class struggle, gender struggle (Beauvoir), and global revolutions have been understood.