Abstract

This book, now in its fourth year of publication, is, above all, a polemical work. As stated in its preface, the emphasis is on the “contemporary world and how to understand it. Next it is about Kojève’s book on Hegel. Finally it is about Hegel.” For the scholarly temper that would take delight in, say, a third translation of the Phenomenology, Cooper’s interest, methods, and approach could possibly be offensive. In this country it is widely held that Kojève vulgarized Hegel. In a similar vein it would not surprise me to hear that this author did a smashing job of vulgarizing both. As stated in the introduction this “essay presents a point of view, not new information. It pushes investigation and argument to an extreme, and it does so in a mood of great confidence.”