Self, Other, God: 20thCentury Jewish Philosophy

This article represents an analysis of the Jewish philosophy of the Modern and Contemporary as the holistic phenomenon. In contrast to antiquity and the Middle Ages, when philosophy was a rather marginal part of Jewish thought, in Modern Times Jewish philosophy is formed as a distinct part of the World philosophy. Despite the fact that representatives of Jewish philosophy wrote in different languages and actively participated in the different national schools of philosophy, their work has internal continuity and integrity. The article formulates the following five criteria for belonging to Jewish philosophy: belonging to philosophy itself; reliance on Jewish sources; the addressee of Jewish philosophy is an educated European; intellectual continuity (representatives of the Jewish philosophy of Modern and Contemporary Periods support each other, argue with each other and protect each other from possible attacks from other schools); working with a set of specific topics, such as monism, ethics and ontology, the significance of behavior and practical life, politics, the problem of man, intelligence, language and hermeneutics of the text, Athens and Jerusalem, dialogism. The article provides a list of the main authors who satisfy these criteria. The central ones can be considered Baruch (Benedict) Spinoza, Moshe Mendelssohn, Shlomo Maimon, German Cohen, Franz Rosenzweig, Josef Dov Soloveichik, Leo Strauss, Abraham Yehoshua Heshel, Eliezer Berkovich, Emil Fackenheim, Mordechai Kaplan, Emmanuel Levinas. The main conclusion of the article is that by the end of the 20th century Jewish philosophy, continuing both the traditions of classical European philosophy and Judaism, has become an important integral part of Western thought.

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Covenant, History, and the Holocaust: Revisiting Emil Fackenheim's Jewish Philosophy

Harvard Theological Review ◽

10.1017/s0017816015000516 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 109 (1) ◽

pp. 129-143

Author(s):

Daniel Rynhold

Keyword(s):

Emmanuel Levinas ◽

Introductory Courses ◽

Franz Rosenzweig ◽

Jewish Thought ◽

Historical Circumstance ◽

The Holocaust ◽

Lasting Impression ◽

Jewish Philosophy ◽

Modern Judaism ◽

Hermann Cohen

In the twentieth century, historical circumstance in the form of the Holocaust led to theodicy's returning to the forefront of the philosophical agenda, particularly in Jewish thought. As a result, post-Holocaust theology is almost always an element of introductory courses on modern and contemporary Jewish philosophy, if not introductory courses on modern Judaism simpliciter. Many working in the field of Jewish philosophy, therefore, probably first encounter Emil Fackenheim (1916–2003), and the infamous turn of phrase that ensured his immortality in the realm of Jewish thought, early on in their studies. Fackenheim was one of the most influential post-Holocaust philosophical voices in what soon became a cacophony. This German-born philosopher's (and ordained Reform rabbi's) concept of the 614th commandment—not to grant Hitler a posthumous victory (in his own words “the only statement of mine that ever became famous”)—has captured the imagination of many a student and often made a lasting impression. Yet it seems that one of the concerns at the forefront of this new expansive monograph on Fackenheim's philosophy is that for the majority, this constitutes both their first and last exposure to his thought, leaving them with an extremely contracted view of his conceptual palate. The result, noted in the book's introduction, is that Fackenheim has never really been considered a Jewish philosopher worthy of mention in the same breath as Hermann Cohen, Franz Rosenzweig, or even latterly Emmanuel Levinas and Joseph Soloveitchik. In this volume, a case is presented for including him on that list.

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JEWISH PHILOSOPHY AND EDUCATION: THINKING ARGENTINA’S DIASPORA FROM THE THEOLOGY OF FRANZ ROZENZWEIG

RELIGION AND POLITICS IN THE CONTEMPORARY TURKISH-SPEAKING WORLD - POLITICS AND RELIGION JOURNAL ◽

10.54561/prj0901053t ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

pp. 53-66

Author(s):

Emmanuel Taub

Keyword(s):

Latin America ◽

Latin American ◽

Jewish Identity ◽

Two Dimensions ◽

Martin Buber ◽

Jewish Tradition ◽

Franz Rosenzweig ◽

The Core ◽

Jewish Philosophy ◽

Hermann Cohen

Latin American Jewish philosophy requires us to rethink the categories of Philosophy and Judaism. In order to articulate these two dimensions it is necessary to understand that Jewish philosophy must start from the attributes of the Jewish tradition. The matter of the education and Jewishness comes from the beginning of Judaism. Throughout the Twentieth Century, the Diaspora in Modern States acquired its peculiarities in relation to these two dimensions, education and Jewishness. Both aspects have been developed in the work of Franz Rosenzweig, one the most important Jewish philosophers of the century. The main goal of this paper is to rethink the core of Rosenzweig’s thought and his dialogues with Martin Buber and Hermann Cohen. Therefore, we will be able to explain the diaspora’s peculiarities in relation to Jewish identity and education in Latin America, especially in Argentina.

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Contextualizing Rosenzweig’s and Levinas’ Notions of the Other by Derrida’s Construal of Difference

RUDN Journal of Philosophy ◽

10.22363/2313-2302-2020-24-3-379-397 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 24 (3) ◽

pp. 379-397

Author(s):

Alexander I. Pigalev

Keyword(s):

Emmanuel Levinas ◽

The Other ◽

Specific Response ◽

Late Modernity ◽

Franz Rosenzweig ◽

Metaphysics Of Presence ◽

Jewish Philosophy ◽

Identity And Difference ◽

Relevant Range

The article focuses on juxtaposing the stances of Franz Rosenzweig and Emmanuel Levinas on the notion of the Other based on the metaphysical principles of modernity so as to expose the prerequisites for their attitude to metaphysics in whole. The peculiarity of the proposed approach is the analysis of the notions of the Other in Rosenzweig and Levinas from the perspective of Jacques Derrida’s philosophy. The scrutiny proceeds from the assumption that the national philosophies, having been considered as the specific response to the effects of the encounter of societies to be modernized with the spreading modernity, for that very reason attach great importance to the construal of the Other. It is emphasized that the similarities between the national schools of philosophy indicate correlating the particular with the general as the paradigm for the comprehension of the Other, whereas the Jewish philosophy has previously conceptualized that paradigm by way of the opposition of “Athens and Jerusalem”. In an effort to assess the capabilities of the above-mentioned paradigm the analysis of the relevant range of problems is set into the wider context and they are considered in connection with the transition from essentialism to anti-essentialism that characterizes already the late modernity. It is disclosed that Rosenzweig’s stance was still essentialist, while Levinas tried to abandon the essentialist understanding of the Other, albeit he did not complete the transition to anti-essentialism. Levinas’ break with metaphysics was brought to a close by Derrida whose anti-essentialist stance on identity and difference radically diverges from the thinking that adheres to the “metaphysics of presence”. In the issue, Derrida who does not formally belong to the Jewish philosophy could afford to summarize Rozenzweig’s and Levinas’ approaches to the problem of the Other, and in so doing he makes a contribution to both general and Jewish philosophy.

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“The Bush Burned with Fire and the Bush Was Not Consumed”

Religion and Theology ◽

10.1163/15743012-bja10023 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 28 (3-4) ◽

pp. 125-152

Author(s):

Miriam Feldmann Kaye

Keyword(s):

Emmanuel Levinas ◽

Martin Buber ◽

The Other ◽

Test Case ◽

Biblical Narrative ◽

Franz Rosenzweig ◽

Mutual Engagement ◽

Original Analysis ◽

Contemporary Christian ◽

Theological Perspective

Abstract This paper explores the post-metaphysical theology of Richard Kearney (1954–) from a Jewish theological perspective. It seeks to provide an original analysis of his project “anatheism,” considering the prominence of Jewish texts in the development of the concept of anatheism. Rooted in deconstructionist and Continental philosophical discourses, Jewish hermeneutics also plays a central role in anatheism. This discursive intersection has received scarce scholarly attention to date. Biblical and other texts which he interprets, include the rabbinic exegesis of Rashi and of modern Jewish hermeneutical philosophy notably of Martin Buber, Franz Rosenzweig, and Emmanuel Levinas. I analyse elements of Kearney’s interpretation primarily of the “Burning Bush” biblical narrative as a test case for anatheistic reading of Jewish texts as they appear in one particular text “I Am Who May Be” in The God Who May Be: A Hermeneutics of Religion (2001). Kearney’s textual reading of the Burning Bush offers an unusual example of a Christian engagement with Jewish interpretations of the biblical parable as well as of Levinas, Derrida, and others. Kearney’s effort highlights an approach of a mutual search for ways of interpreting texts not “of” the other, but “with” the other, in a mutual engagement of post-metaphysical theology. More broadly, this examination offers an important contribution to the developing field of post-metaphysical theology in the Jewish and Christian traditions, ultimately posing questions as to how and whether elements of Jewish scriptural interpretative techniques might or can imbue contemporary Christian post-metaphysical theologies. Conversely, the question can be asked as to what a Jewish version of anatheism might look like. This examination presents a test case for possibilities of reading and learning from discourses across different religions.

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RUSSIAN, JEWISH OR HUMAN? JEWISH MYSTICAL THOUGHT IN THE POETRY OF BULAT SHALVOVICH OKUDZHAVA

Porównania ◽

10.14746/p.2017.21.14001 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 21 (2) ◽

Author(s):

Katarzyna Anna Kornacka-Sareło

Keyword(s):

Distinctive Feature ◽

Emmanuel Levinas ◽

Martin Buber ◽

The Other ◽

Human Being ◽

Philosophical Approach ◽

Franz Rosenzweig ◽

Jewish Mysticism ◽

The World ◽

Literary Output

While looking at the literary output of Bulat Shalvovich Okudzhava from the perspective of imagology, one can see that the image of “the Other” in the poems of the Russian bard was created, paradoxically, just by this “Other”, and it was not constructed by the images (imagines) intrinsically present in the consciousness of the ethnocentric “Self” or “The Same”. In other words, in the case of Okudzhava’s poetry, the image of “the Other” stands on the basis of some ideas of Jewish mystics and the ones of Jewish philosophers of dialogue (Martin Buber, Franz Rosenzweig and Emmanuel Lévinas). Therefore, the aim of this article was to present the motifs stemming from Jewish mysticism in the poems-songs by Okudzhava which, as it seems, influenced theological, anthropological and ethical views of the bard. The distinctive feature of Okudzhava’s philosophical approach is perceiving every person, regardless of their ethnic or cultural origin, as a being responsible for themselves in the process of constituting themselves in their humanity. The same person is also responsible for other people, for the world of nature, and even for an impersonal and non-anthropomorphic godhead who does not intervene in human affairs. Therefore, Okudzhava – similarly to Jewish mystics – regards the human being as a co-creator of reality, obliged to perform ethically positive acts and respect an old Kabbalistic postulate tikkun ha-olam - “to mend the world”.

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Crisis and Meaning: F. Kafka and the Law

Santalka filosofija komunikacija ◽

10.3846/cpc.2017.288 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 25 (1) ◽

pp. 123-134 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Luc Anckaert ◽

Roger Burggraeve

Keyword(s):

Jacques Derrida ◽

Emmanuel Levinas ◽

Gilles Deleuze ◽

Human Life ◽

Literary Text ◽

Martin Buber ◽

Franz Rosenzweig ◽

Quest For Meaning ◽

The Law ◽

Ternary Structure

The parable “Before the Law” is a pivotal text in the work of Franz Kafka. It tells of a man who looks for the law as the quintessence of his life. But his quest for meaning comes to a crisis because of a fundamental deception. Instead of interpreting the law as a personal mystery, he somehow objectifies it. His abstract view on life begets the obstacle-character that embodies all those who could bar him from finding the law. In this narrative, the failure of finding the law results in a murder in which human life is reduced to bestial death. In this sense, Kafka’s narrative is a tale of anti-creation. In a close reading we analyze the text with attention for the ternary structure, i.e. the intertwined complex of the I-Thou relation and the I-It relation (Martin Buber). The literary text is interpreted for its philosophical relevance. Franz Rosenzweig and Emmanuel Levinas but also Gilles Deleuze and Jacques Derrida have an important role in this way of reading.

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La ética del Otro: una introducción al pensamiento de Emmanuel Lévinas

10.26422/icf.20193cong06.alv ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

pp. 5-14

Author(s):

Carlos Alvaréz Teijeiro

Keyword(s):

Interpersonal Relationships ◽

Emmanuel Levinas ◽

Radical Change ◽

The Other ◽

Western Philosophy ◽

Ethical Implications ◽

Essential Question ◽

History Of ◽

The Relationship ◽

First Philosophy

Emmanuel Lévinas, the philosopher of ethics par excellence in the twentieth century, and by own merit one of the most important ethical philosophers in the history of western philosophy, is also the philosopher of the Other. Thereby, it can be said that no thought has deepened like his in the ups and downs of the ethical relationship between subject and otherness. The general objective of this work is to expose in a simple and understandable way some ideas that tend to be quite dark in the philosophical work of the author, since his profuse religious production will not be analyzed here. It is expected to show that his ideas about the being and the Other are relevant to better understand interpersonal relationships in times of 4.0 (re)evolution. As specific objectives, this work aims to expose in chronological order the main works of the thinker, with special emphasis on his ethical implications: Of the evasion (1935), The time and the Other (1947), From the existence to the existent (1947), Totality and infinity: An essay on exteriority (1961) and, last, Otherwise than being, or beyond essence (1974). In the judgment of Lévinas, history of western philosophy starting with Greece, has shown an unusual concern for the Being, this is, it has basically been an ontology and, accordingly, it has relegated ethics to a second or third plane. On the other hand and in a clear going against the tide movement, our author supports that ethics should be considered the first philosophy and more, even previous to the proper philosophize. This novel approach implies, as it is supposed, that the essential question of the philosophy slows down its origin around the Being in order to inquire about the Other: it is a philosophy in first person. Such a radical change of perspective generates an underlying change in how we conceive interpersonal relationships, the complex framework of meanings around the relationship Me and You, which also philosopher Martin Buber had already spoken of. As Lévinas postulates that ethics is the first philosophy, this involves that the Other claims all our attention, intellectual and emotional, to the point of considering that the relationship with the Other is one of the measures of our identity. Thus, “natural” attitude –husserlian word not used by Lévinas- would be to be in permanent disposition regarding to the meeting with the Other, to be in permanent opening state to let ourselves be questioned by him. Ontology, as the author says, being worried about the Being, has been likewise concerned about the Existence, when the matter is to concern about the particular Existent that every otherness supposes for us. In conclusion it can be affirmed that levinasian ethics of the meeting with the Other, particular Face, irreducible to the assumption, can contribute with an innovative looking to (re)evolving the interpersonal relationships in a 4.0 context.

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Spinoza’s Afterlife in Judaism and the Task of Modern Jewish Philosophy

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195335828.013.25 ◽

2015 ◽

Author(s):

Michael L. Morgan

Keyword(s):

Emmanuel Levinas ◽

Leo Strauss ◽

Philosophical Significance ◽

Jewish Philosophy ◽

Jewish Intellectuals

This article examines Baruch Spinoza’s legacy within Judaism and his impact on modern Jewish philosophy. It first considers some of the Jewish intellectuals and leaders who have found inspiration or provocation in Spinoza, and then turns to Spinozism in Judaism and the philosophical significance of Spinoza’s reception among the Jews. It then explores the ways in which Spinoza has become a symbol of philosophical tendencies in Jewish self-understanding and concludes by discussing how Spinoza’s symbolic presence signals a dialectic in modern Jewish philosophy concerning various interpretations of Jewish existence and their interaction. More specifically, it looks at three Jewish philosophers who have at one time or another taken an interest in Spinoza, with emphasis on their various responses to him: Leo Strauss, Emil Fackenheim, and Emmanuel Levinas.

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SOUZA, Ricardo Timm de. Ética do escrever: Kafka, Derrida e a literatura como crítica da violência

Revista Opinião Filosófica ◽

10.36592/opiniaofilosofica.v11.989 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (Ed. esp. 2) ◽

Author(s):

Olmaro Paulo Mass ◽

Evandro Pontel

Keyword(s):

Emmanuel Levinas ◽

Rio Grande ◽

Rio Grande Do Sul ◽

Franz Rosenzweig

Natural de Farroupilha, RS, em 1962, o autor possui graduação (entre outras) em Instrumentos pela UFRGS 1980-1984 - inconclusa - incluindo formação de Disciplinas e workshops nas áreas de Composição e Regência no Brasil e exterior. Graduado em Estudos Sociais (1985), em Filosofia/Bacharelado e Licenciatura e mestre em Filosofia – Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (1991). Doutor em Filosofia pela Albert-Ludwigs-Universitaet Freiburg (Alemanha, 1994), pela Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg (Alemanha, 1994, com a tese (Wenn das Unendliche in die Welt des Subjekts und der Geschichte einfällt - ein metaphänomenologischer Versuch über das ethische Unendliche bei Emmanuel Levinas), tendo posteriormente realizado, entre outras, pesquisas em Amsterdam (Holanda), Leuwen (Bélgica), Freiburg (Alemanha) e Kassel (Alemanha). É Professor Titular da Escola de Humanidades da PUCRS e tradutor de Franz Rosenzweig ao português. É autor de vinte e seis livros e cerca de duzentos capítulos, artigos, traduções e obras organizadas, sendo membro de sociedades científicas nacionais e internacionais e parecerista de órgãos brasileiros e estrangeiros de fomento à pesquisa. Membro-fundador do Centro Brasileiro de Estudos sobre o Pensamento de E. Levinas, da Sociedade Brasileira de Fenomenologia e da Internationale-Rosenzweig-Gesellschaft, entre outras instituições. É docente e pesquisador[1] dos Programas de Pós-graduação em Filosofia e Letras (Escrita Criativa) da PUCRS.

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