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

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

known for championing the work of

Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (; ; 27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a German philosopher. He is one of the most important figures in German idealism and one of the founding figures of modern Western philosophy. His influence extends ...

, and other German philosophers, and educating some of France's most prominent post-war thinkers. His major works include ''Genesis and Structure of Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit'' and ''Studies on Marx and Hegel''.

Life and career

Hyppolite was born in

Jonzac Jonzac (; french: label=Poitevin-Saintongese, Jhonzat) 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 Hypp ...

. He was a graduate of the

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

(ENS) at roughly the same time as

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism (and phenomenology), a French playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and litera ...

. After graduation he embarked on a serious study of

Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (; ; 27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a German philosopher. He is one of the most important figures in German idealism and one of the founding figures of modern Western philosophy. His influence extends a ...

, teaching himself German in order to read ''

Phenomenology of Spirit ''The Phenomenology of Spirit'' (german: Phänomenologie des Geistes) is the most widely-discussed philosophical work of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel; its German title can be translated as either ''The Phenomenology of Spirit'' or ''The Phenomen ...

'' 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 (french: Université de Strasbourg, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. The French university traces its history to the ea ...

, before moving to the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

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'', a work that may have had a seminal effect on what was to become known as

post-structuralism Post-structuralism is a term for philosophical and literary forms of theory that both build upon and reject ideas established by structuralism, the intellectual project that preceded it. Though post-structuralists all present different critique ...

. This book tries to correlate Hegel's ''Phenomenology'' to his ''Logics'' (longer and shorter). 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 volu ...

. The translators of the English language edition of the text (SUNY Press, 1997) included Deleuze's review at the end of the volume. In 1954, he became the director of the ENS and in 1955 produced a study of

Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...

'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 Collège de France (), formerly known as the ''Collège Royal'' or as the ''Collège impérial'' founded in 1530 by François I, is a higher education and research establishment (''grand établissement'') in France. It is located in Paris ne ...

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 than ...

, and

Michel Foucault Paul-Michel Foucault (, ; ; 15 October 192625 June 1984) was a French philosopher, historian of ideas, writer, political activist, and literary critic. Foucault's theories primarily address the relationship between power and knowledge, and how ...

, as well as

Jacques Derrida Jacques Derrida (; ; born Jackie Élie Derrida; See also . 15 July 1930 – 9 October 2004) was an Algerian-born French philosopher. He developed the philosophy of deconstruction, which he utilized in numerous texts, and which was developed t ...

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-Nanterre, at the University of California Irvine and is currently an Anniversary Chair Professor at the Centre for Research in Modern Eu ...

(at the ENS). Hyppolite died in Paris.

Works

* ''Genesis and Structure of Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit'' (1947) * ''Logic and Existence'' (1952) * ''Studies on Marx and Hegel'' (1955)

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 University of Strasbourg faculty University of Paris faculty Collège de France faculty École Normale Supérieure faculty 20th-century French translators Lycée Henri-IV teachers 20th-century French male writers French male non-fiction writers