Jean Hyppolite (; 8 January 1907 – 26 October 1968) was a French

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

known for championing the work of

G. W. F. Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a 19th-century German idealism, German idealist. His influence extends across a wide range of topics from metaphysical issues in epistemology and ontology, to political phi ...

, and other German philosophers, and educating some of France's most prominent post-war thinkers. His major works include ''Genèse et structure de la Phénoménologie de l'esprit de Hegel'' (1946) and ''Études sur Marx et Hegel'' (1955) and the first translation of Hegel's ''

The Phenomenology of Spirit ''The Phenomenology of Spirit'' (or ''The Phenomenology of Mind''; ) is the most consequential philosophical work of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. Hegel described the 1807 work, a ladder to the greater philosophica ...

'' into French in 1939.

Life and career

Hyppolite was born in

Jonzac Jonzac (; ) is a commune of the Charente-Maritime department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. The historian Jean Glénisson (1921–2010) was born in Jonzac as well as the philosopher Jean Hyppolite (1907–1968). Geography The r ...

. He was a graduate of the

École Normale Supérieure École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by Secondary education in France, secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing i ...

(ENS) at roughly the same time as

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was a French philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary criticism, literary critic, considered a leading figure in 20th ...

. After graduation he embarked on a serious study of

Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a 19th-century German idealism, German idealist. His influence extends across a wide range of topics from metaphysical issues in epistemology and ontology, to political phi ...

, teaching himself German in order to read ''

'' in the original. In 1939 he came out with his own translation and his commentary would later form the basis of the book ''Genesis and Structure of the Phenomenology of Spirit'' (published in 1947). After the Second World War, Hyppolite became a professor at the

University of Strasbourg The University of Strasbourg (, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. Founded in the 16th century by Johannes Sturm, it was a center of intellectual life during ...

, before moving to the Sorbonne in 1949.Heckman, John. 2000 (1974). Introduction. In: Hyppolite, Jean. ''Genesis and Structure of Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit.'' Northwestern University Press: Evanston. pp. xv–xli. In 1952, Hyppolite published ''Logique et existence'' (''Logic and Existence''), a work that may have had a seminal effect on what was to become known as

post-structuralism Post-structuralism is a philosophical movement that questions the objectivity or stability of the various interpretive structures that are posited by structuralism and considers them to be constituted by broader systems of Power (social and poli ...

. This book tries to correlate Hegel's ''Phenomenology'' to his ''Logics'' (the '' Greater Logic'' and the '' Lesser Logic''). In doing so, it raises the questions of language, being, and difference that were to become the hallmarks of new French philosophy at the end of the 20th century. The book was reviewed by the philosopher

Gilles Deleuze Gilles Louis René Deleuze (18 January 1925 – 4 November 1995) was a French philosopher who, from the early 1950s until his death in 1995, wrote on philosophy, literature, film, and fine art. His most popular works were the two volumes o ...

. The translators of the English language edition of the text (SUNY Press, 1997) included Deleuze's review at the end of the volume. In 1953 he founded the philosophical '' Épiméthée'' collection within the PUF publishing house. In 1954, he became the director of the ENS and in 1955 produced a study of

Karl Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...

's earlier, more Hegelian period, at a time when the French interest in Hegel was at its apogee. In 1963, he was elected to the

Collège de France The (), formerly known as the or as the ''Collège impérial'' founded in 1530 by François I, is a higher education and research establishment () in France. It is located in Paris near La Sorbonne. The has been considered to be France's most ...

and given a chair in ''The History of Philosophical Thought''. While philosophers such as

were known for producing new works influenced by German philosophy, Hyppolite is remembered as an expositor, teacher, and translator. He influenced a number of thinkers, including

, who studied Hegel under him at the

Lycée Henri-IV The Lycée Henri-IV () is a public secondary school located in Paris. Along with the Lycée Louis-le-Grand, it is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious and demanding sixth-form colleges ('' lycées'') in France. The school educates more ...

, and

Michel Foucault Paul-Michel Foucault ( , ; ; 15 October 192625 June 1984) was a French History of ideas, historian of ideas and Philosophy, philosopher who was also an author, Literary criticism, literary critic, Activism, political activist, and teacher. Fo ...

, as well as

Jacques Derrida Jacques Derrida (; ; born Jackie Élie Derrida;Peeters (2013), pp. 12–13. See also 15 July 1930 – 9 October 2004) was a French Algerian philosopher. He developed the philosophy of deconstruction, which he utilized in a number of his texts, ...

Gérard Granel Gérard Granel (; 1930 – 10 November 2000) was a French philosopher and translator. Life and work Born in Paris, Granel attended the lycée Louis-le-Grand and the courses of Michel Alexandre, Jean Hyppolite and, later, of Louis Althusser ...

and

Étienne Balibar Étienne Balibar (; ; born 23 April 1942) is a French philosopher. He has taught at the University of Paris X, at the University of California, Irvine and is currently an Anniversary Chair Professor at the Centre for Research in Modern European ...

(at the ENS). Hyppolite died in Paris.

Works

* ''Genesis and Structure of Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit'' (1946) * ''Introduction to Hegel's Philosophy of History'' (1948) * ''Logic and Existence'' (1952) * ''Studies on Marx and Hegel'' (1955) * ''Figures de la pensée philosophique: écrits de Jean Hyppolite 1931-1968'' (1971) * ''Charles Péguy: Quatre Conférences'' (2024)

Translation into French

, ''La Phénoménologie de l'esprit'', Paris, Aubier, 1939

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hyppolite, Jean 1907 births 1968 deaths People from Charente-Maritime Lycée Henri-IV alumni School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences alumni École Normale Supérieure alumni French historians of philosophy German–French translators 20th-century French philosophers Academic staff of the University of Strasbourg Academic staff of the University of Paris Academic staff of the Collège de France Academic staff of the École Normale Supérieure 20th-century French translators Lycée Henri-IV teachers 20th-century French male writers French male non-fiction writers Hegel scholars Continental philosophers