This paper examines friendship in the correspondence of Alcuin of York in the broader context of the development of concepts of friendship in the Latin West. The fundamental dimensions of friendship in Alcuin’s work are identified, as well as the relationship between them. These are specifically the spiritual, philosophical‑ethical and political mensions. In addition, elements of the author’s own emotionality can be perceived in Alcuin’s correspondence. The sources of Alcuin’s concept of friendship are to be sought primarily in the patristic tradition.
Stemming from a reading of Hegel’s account of the struggle for recognition in the Phenomenology of Spirit, Kojève argued that death is the central notion of Hegel’s philosophy. I will discuss several themes in relation to this claim of Kojève’s interpretation of Hegel, namely the themes of freedom, individuality, and historicity. I will also discuss Kojève’s reading that Hegel rejects both all conceptions of the afterlife, and too the belief in the afterlife as a manifestation of the “unhappy consciousness”. I will point out flaws of Kojève’s interpretation throughout.
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