Tyranny and boredom

ABSTRACT Half-way through Alexandre Kojève’s six-year lectures on Hegel (1933–1939), the dialectic of struggle and work reaches its culmination in the conceptual dyad Napoleon-Hegel as a necessary vehicle for universal emancipation and absolute science. Anticipating the ‘leap’ into post-historical existence, the figure of tyranny and wisdom marks the exception in which the dialectical process is suspended in favour of dualism. This article departs from the objections raised against Kojève’s notion of tyranny to explore the hyphenated dyad Napoleon-Hegel through the cognate concepts of woman, individuality, and boredom. The proposed interpretation of these concepts underscores their role in Kojève’s philosophical project while inviting a timely reflection on their potential to reshape social and political realities.