scholarly journals Jewish philosophy as a Direction of the World philosophy of Modern and Contemporary Times

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 430-442
Author(s):  
I Dvorkin

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.

2016 ◽  
Vol 109 (1) ◽  
pp. 129-143
Author(s):  
Daniel Rynhold

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.


2007 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 303-316
Author(s):  
Shlomo Berger

ArgumentThe Argentine-based Yiddish philosophical journal Davke functioned as a mediator between general European philosophy and Jewish philosophy. Its editor Shlomo Suskovich wished to introduce readers of Yiddish to the western tradition of philosophy and, at the same time, to show how Jewish thought contributed to abstract thinking. Through topical issues dedicated to central ideas or to giants among Jewish philosophers, particular knowledge could be successfully transmitted to the reading public. Sigmund Freud was honored with such a topical issue. In it the editor wished to show this Jew's contribution to basic philosophical contemplation rather than limit the discussion to his contributions in the field of psychology. In the central article of the issue on Freud, the editor emphasizes that all the articles in the issue, including those which deal with psychoanalysis, focus on Freud's importance to the world of ideas rather than just the world of medicine.


Author(s):  
Michael L. Morgan

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.


2007 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 105-114
Author(s):  
HERBERT GRABES

In a survey of the writing of literary histories in Europe, it is first pointed out that, in classical Antiquity and in the early Christian period from the fourth to the 12th centuries, such histories were transnational. After the Middle Ages, in which we find only catalogues of particular libraries, the rise of the European nation states in early modern times motivated the writing of national literary histories. With a concentration on the development in Britain, it is then shown that this development reached its peak in the 19th century, yet is still very strong today. In comparison, some examples of histories of European literature show that such transnational histories may also be informed primarily by the principle of prodesse in presenting either written culture or only what seems favourable for the understanding of national literary history; they may, however, also give more attention to literature and the imagination than to nations or culture and in that way foster delectare.


Author(s):  
Henry S. Levinson ◽  
Jonathan W. Malino

Jewish philosophy is pursued by committed Jews seeking to understand Judaism and the world in one another’s light. In this broad sense, contemporary Jewish philosophy maintains the central focus of classical, medieval and Enlightenment Jewish philosophy. But a certain kind of traditionalism distinguishes many contemporary Jewish philosophers from their predecessors: an effort to show how Judaism maintains continuity and coherence despite historical change. Jewish thinkers who are traditionalists in this sense are no longer preoccupied with showing non-Jewish philosophers how Judaism fares when evaluated by universal reason, as their classical, medieval and modern predecessors were. Nor is their chief concern with exhibiting the good reasons for remaining Jewish and not converting to Christianity or Islam, as was that of many earlier Jewish thinkers. One work that sets an agenda for many of these traditionalists is Franz Rosenzweig’s Der Stern der Erlösung (The Star of Redemption) (1921). Like Rosenzweig, (1) they often reject the Enlightenment demand for a transcendental propaedeutic as a prelude to asking substantive questions. Instead, they address Jewish thought, ethics and experience head on. (2) None among this group thinks of his work as beholden primarily and inevitably to standards of thought articulated first and foremost outside distinctively Jewish experience. (3) The six points of Der Stern der Erlösung (The Star of Redemption) – Creation, Revelation, Redemption, God, Israel, and the World – mark the large themes they aim to define or the categories through which they propose, explore and defend their claims. Besides traditionalism thus understood, contemporary Jewish philosophy, particularly among philosophers with analytic training, is marked by efforts philosophically to reanimate the classic texts of medieval Jewish philosophy, especially the work of Moses Maimonides.


2018 ◽  
Vol 44 ◽  
pp. 00188
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Winczek ◽  
Jerzy Winczek

In the paper, against the background of art and ecology associations, formerly and today, modern ecological techniques and materials used in artistic printmaking have been presented. The considerations were related to the culture of past centuries and searching for the threads of ecological thought in philosophy, religion or art. The development of ecological thinking in European art is traced from the Middle Ages to modern times. The trends, concepts and methods of environmental graphics are characterized in the context of development and research of these methods in the world and in Poland. The basic techniques of ecological intaglio (etching, soft varnish, aquatint, chipping, photopolymer techniques and electrolytic etching) are discussed. Alternative materials and procedures were proposed based on literature and authors’ own research. The advantages and benefits of using these techniques in ecological and workshop aspects were analyzed.


Author(s):  
Agnieszka Stempin

Chess is a board game, in the Middle Ages referred to as a tabula. During the long way it took since its origin in India in the 6th century until modern times, the subsequent communities left their own, inimitable cultural marks. In India, chess had a deeply mystical nature; Persians used chess to picture the world as a battlefield; Arabs systematised many concepts and took note of the mathematical aspect; Europe made use of chess to define rules that should apply to an ideal society. This shows a perfect understanding of the balance on the chessboard, the mutual dependencies and consistent actions leading to success – both when playing and creating social life. Medieval literature provides an excellent basis for studies of the intertwining cultural trends and describing the reality. In the literature, elements based on playing chess are oftentimes among the postulated modes of education. However, the ideas encountered by the potential users of chess tournaments were best communicated by the figures and the accumulated plethora of notions. An analysis of the changes affecting jackstraws at an early stage of the game’s adaptation in Europe and other territories which took over chess as cultural models, leads to a conclusion that the material from the 11th-12th centuries that comes from Polish collections matches many Latin trends and shows considerable knowledge thereof.


Author(s):  
Smith Marcus ◽  
Leslie Nico

This chapter focuses on leases. Leases are most commonly associated with transactions involving land, and have been a feature of the law of real property since the Middle Ages. However, other forms of lease have become increasingly prominent in modern times. There are now major industries concerned with the leasing of chattels, such as vehicles or aircraft, and leases of intangible rights have become commonplace in the world of intellectual property. The key feature of such leases is that the lessee obtains the right to exclude others from using the relevant chattel or intellectual property. This is in contrast to a mere licence, by which the licensee obtains only the right to use the chattel or property himself. The chapter looks specifically at leases over land—its nature, historical origins, and whether they can be properly classified as choses in action.


2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 379-397
Author(s):  
Alexander I. Pigalev

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.


Author(s):  
Jonathan Schofer

Two major strands articulating wisdom in Jewish theology appeared in the Middle Ages: the philosophical and the mystical. The greatest philosophical account of wisdom appears right at the end of The Guide for the Perplexed, by Maimonides. Maimonides offers an analytic treatment of verses from the book of Proverbs and uses of wisdom elsewhere in the Jewish Bible to set out wisdom as a distinct and valued human virtue. The greatest mystical treatment of wisdom appears in The Zohar, a tremendous Kabbalistic exposition of the Pentateuch. In The Zohar, wisdom is one of ten points of divine emanation called sefirot. Human attainment of wisdom requires ascetic and disciplined study of traditional Jewish sources, which brings intimate connection with divine emanation. In the eighteenth through twentieth centuries, new developments in Jewish thought brought renewed significance for wisdom in the writings of Hasidic Jewish leaders, Martin Buber, and Emmanuel Levinas.


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