Prometheus and Tantalus. A Comparison between Kojeve and Sartre

In this paper an attempt is made to devise the relationship between the thoughts of Alexandre Kojeve and Jean-Paul Sartre, which has been scarcely investigated by critics. The reconstructive method that will be followed will be essentially theoretical, without omitting both historical, and philosophical considerations. The contours of the theme on which the two authors are closest will be reconstructed first, namely the idea of the human being as a void within a full and compact being. However, it is precisely at the point of closest proximity that Kojeve and Sartre prove to be extremely distant. This is why the first paragraph will be followed by two others in which we will analyse the different dualisms that the two philosophers elaborate. A fourth and final paragraph will show some decisive points of discontinuity between our two authors.