Thèses sur le sujet « Jewish Enlightenment »

The Jewish Enlightenment (Haskalah) began in Berlin in the late eighteenth century and called for the renewal of Judaism through the adoption of elements of the wider culture. This thesis focuses on the way in which moderate proponents of Haskalah (Maskilim) treated the question of morality. The ethical writings of Isaac Satanov, Naphtali Herz Wessely and Menahem Mendel Lefin are given greatest attention. Children's catechisms, and articles from the Haskalah periodicals (especially ha-Measef) are also examined. Two purposes underlie the study. The first is to demonstrate the manner in which traditional Jewish ethical categories are transformed and turned into vehicles for Enlightenment thought. Through adopting the concern with practical living, the Maskilim were sharing in a process that led to a view of religion as little more than a means to this-worldly improvement. The second aim is to assess how sensitive the Maskilim were to the dangers than modern conceptions of mortality presented to religion. In order to protect religion the Haskalah sought to place limits on the use of reason. In line with conservative thinkers of the Aufklärung, it was argued that basic religious principles lie at the heart of moral behaviour. In order to carry out the above goals the thesis sets the Haskalah's treatment of ethics in the wider contexts of the Jewish ethical writings popular in the Baroque period on the one side, and Enlightenment thought and culture on the other. Enlightenment ideas are only adopted once they have been refracted through the prism of Jewish traditions (most often the rational tradition).

Le travail de thèse entreprend une reconstruction critique de la philosophie politique de Leo Strauss (1899-1973) en partant de ses écrits de jeunesse allemands, replacés dans leur contexte politique et philosophique d’émergence et particulièrement dans les mouvements de la « renaissance juive » des années 1920. Au lieu de comparer son œuvre à celle d’autres grands classiques de la philosophie politique du XXe siècle ou d’analyser ces textes de jeunesse à la lumière de sa réception aux États-Unis, où lui et ses disciples sont souvent associés au mouvement néoconservateur américain, il s’agit ici de voir comment son positionnement politico-philosophique spécifique se construit dans la confrontation au « dilemme théologico-politique » dans lequel la pensée juive-allemande est prise face à la radicalisation de l’antisémitisme allemand pendant et après la Première Guerre Mondiale : judaïsme national ou judaïsme religieux ? Dans ses premiers écrits des années 1920, Strauss transforme cette opposition en celle entre Lumières et orthodoxie, entre athéisme et théisme, opposition qu’il ne cessera de vouloir dépasser à travers la construction d’un « athéisme biblique ». Nous montrons que ce n’est cependant que dans les années 1930, après son « tournant platonicien », que Strauss trouvera, par l’intermédiaire d’une nouvelle interprétation de Maïmonide, sa solution au « dilemme théologico-politique », sur des bases philosophiques pré-modernes. Avec le retour à ces Lumières platoniciennes, Strauss tente d’harmoniser Lumières et anti-Lumières, la défense du rationalisme et la justification d’un ordre théologico-politique autoritaire, projet paradoxal qui forme le cœur de son néoconservatisme philosophique
My thesis undertakes a critical reconstruction of the political philosophy of Leo Strauss (1899-1973) on the basis of his early writings, which I contextualize in the political and philosophical frame of the Weimar Republic and the “German-Jewish Renaissance” of the 1920s. My main hypothesis is that his concept of ”political philosophy” emerges from a confrontation with the “theological-political dilemma” that German-Jewish thought faced after the First World War, the radicalization of German Anti-Semitism and the problem of being torn between national and religious Judaism. I argue that in his early writings of the 1920s, Strauss transforms this dilemma into the opposition between Enlightenment and orthodoxy, atheism and theism that he tries to overcome in the form of an “biblical atheism”. In the 1930s, after his “Platonic turn”, Strauss finds another solution to the “dilemma”, now on pre-modern philosophical grounds, through a new interpretation of Maimonides. With the return to this “platonic” Enlightenment, Strauss tries to harmonize anti-Enlightenment and Enlightenment, pre-modern rationalism and the justification of authoritarian theological-political order. My argument ist that this paradoxical project is the core of his philosophical neo-conservatism

Les tâche de recherche principales de la dissertation sont d'analyser l'impact qui a eu la philosophie kantienne sur la pensée de Lazarus Bendavid (1762 - 1832) et sa philosophie du judaïsme. Le personnage de Bendavid étant très peu connu, nous présentons ainsi la première biographie complète de cet intellectuel de la Haskala et sa vie entre Berlin et Vienne. De même nous avons, pour la première fois, recherché son projet de Haskala à fin de mettre en lumière sa vision pour un Judaïsme individuel et autonome, son rôle important pour le Kantisme juif et son impact sur le processus d'évolution d'une identité juive allemande et, enfin, de la création de la Wissenschaft des Judentums. Il s'agit donc d'un projet à l'intersection de philosophie, histoire et études juives, qui, en examinant l'Aufklärung à Berlin et Vienne, recherche la biographie peu connu et l'oeuvre peu recherché d'un de ses intellectuels: Lazarus Bendavid
The main goal of this dissertation is to analyse the influence Kantian philosophy had on the writings of Lazarus Bendavid (1762 - 1832) and his philosophy of Judaism. With this dissertation we introduce the first complete biography of Lazarus Bendavid and his life between Berlin and Vienna. We also offer the first thorough examination of his Haskala-project in order to shed light on his vision of an individual and autonomous Judaism, as well as his important role within Jewish Kantianism et his impact on the development and evolution of a German-Jewish identity and, lastly, the foundation of Wissenschaft des Judentums. This research project hence revolves around the intersection of philosophy, history and Jewish studies and, through examining the Enlightenment movements in Berlin and Vienna, researches the life and works of one of it's intellectuals who has, thus far, been neglected in Haskala-research: Lazarus Bendavid

This thesis is a comparative study of Michel Foucault's History of Madness and Rabbi Nachman's teachings 64 and 5 from Liqqutei Moharan and Liqqutei Moharan Tinyana, respectively. The author compares how both authors conceive of madness and the limits of reason. The study is divided in three parts. The first and second parts are analytical, dealing with History of Madness and Nachman's teachings. At the beginning of the second part, the author also provides a general introduction to madness in Early Chasidism and a short biography of Nachman. Finally, in the third part, the author compares Foucault's and Nachman's thought in three sections: madness vindicated, reason exposed and power & the void. By reading Foucault through the lenses of Nachman and vice versa, the author attempts to provide new insights into the work of both.

Philosophie und Frühantisemitismus bilden den Themenbereich der Arbeit. Der Frühantisemitismus reicht von 1780 bis 1850. Speziell verweigert er die Bürgerrechte für Juden. In diesem Sinn wenden Deutsche Liberale sich während der Entstehungsphase der bürgerlichen Gesellschaften im frühen 19. Jahrhundert gegen die jüdische Emanzipation: F. L. Jahn, E. M. Arndt, K. Follen, C. F. Rühs und J. F. Fries. Im Gegensatz zu ihnen votiert Hegel mit seinen Grundlinien der Philosophie des Rechts entschieden für sie. Er schließt damit an die Erklärung der Menschenrechte in den USA und Frankreich an und führt deren Normativität fort. Es ist das Ergebnis konsequenten Denkens und Hegel überwindet einige seiner früheren antijüdischen Ansichten. Er betont die klare Verbindung zwischen Menschenrechten und Judenemanzipation, geht aber auch darüber hinaus: Sein Konzept fordert eine Integration, die zudem wirtschaftliche und kulturelle Teilhabe verlangt. Hegel opponiert unter historischen Bedingungen gegen die liberalen Frühantisemiten, was ebenso zu berücksichtigen ist, wie die systematischen Argumente der Rechtslehre. Nichtsdestotrotz gelingt ihm kein konsistentes Konzept. Der Grund dafür liegt jedoch in der Realität, die dargestellt werden soll, und nicht bei ihm. Hinsichtlich der internationalen Beziehungen zwischen den modernen Staaten gibt es keine universellen Institutionen mit Macht. Hegel opfert letztlich sein Vorhaben, die universelle Ethik weiterzuentwickeln, weil er dies reflektiert und sich ihm beugt. Unter Berücksichtigung dieses Kontextes müssen seine Konzepte zum Volksgeist betrachtet werden. Die Partikularität des Volksgeistkonzepts gefährdet seinen Entwurf zur Emanzipation, der universal fundiert ist; doch der Grund der Probleme liegt in den internationalen Beziehungen.
In this thesis early anti-semitism is discussed in the context of G.W.F. Hegel’s philosophy. Early anti-semitism spanning from 1780-1850 is particularly concerned with declining Jews any equal civic status. Against the backdrop of civil societies arising in the early 19th century, a group of German authors, including F.L. Jahn, E.M. Arndt, K. Follen, C.F. Rühs, and J.F. Fries, in spite of their liberalism opposed Jewish emancipation in this specific sense. In contrast, Hegel in his Philosophy of Right clearly argues in favour of Jewish emancipation, following modern normative ideals as established by Human Rights Declarations in the U.S. and in France. Overcoming some of his earlier anti-Jewish views Hegel arrives at this result by way of consistent thinking. He not only stresses the obvious relationship between Human Rights and Jewish emancipation, but also further develops this idea: His concept calls for equal integration that involves economic and cultural participation as well. Hegel opposed liberal anti-semites under specific historical conditions that have to be taken into account alongside his philosophical arguments put forward in the Philosophy of Right. If he finally didn‘t achieve to develop an overall consistent concept it‘s not to be attributed to a lack of efforts on his part but rather to the reality his theory reflects. International relations between modern states don‘t involve universal institutions with actual power. Hegel, reflecting on and giving in to that reality, finally dismisses his earlier attempts to advance universal ethics. His concept of a nation‘s particular volksgeist and especially the Germanic spirit have to be assessed with this context in mind. Hegel‘s idea of emancipation which rests on universal claims is at odds with his preference for the particular that‘s being expressed in his concept of a volksgeist. The source for this problem however has to be sought in the international relations themselves.

Although historians have written extensively on both the early modern era and the development of an absolute monarchy, the history of Jewish communities in France and the role they played has been largely ignored. Beginning with the French Wars of Religion, this study analyzes to what extent France’s religious situation affected the growth of absolutism and how this in turn affected the Jews. Taking advantage of the fractured nature of the early French monarchy, Jews began settling in provinces along the border of both Spain and the Holy Roman Empire. Affected by economic jealousies and cultural perceptions of Jews, the treatment of these communities by local officials led to requests by Jews for royal intervention in these regions. Perceptions of Jews evolved through the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries as the French Enlightenment influenced the way Jewish characters were presented. This study then ties these perceptions of Jews to the political and economic reality of these communities in an attempt to create a unified history of France’s early modern Jewish population.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Florida State University, 2004.
Advisor: Dr. Linda Saladin-Adams, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Dept. of Humanities. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed Sept. 30, 2004). Includes bibliographical references.

This dissertation examines the interactions between early modern science and traditional Jewish legal scholarship through the life and work of Italian rabbi and physician Isaac Lampronti (1679-1756). Lampronti produced both the first alphabetically organized encyclopedia (the Paḥad Yiẓḥak) and the first periodical (the Bikurei kaẓir) of rabbinic law, which refashioned the traditional rabbinic system according to scientific methodologies and emerging Enlightenment ideas. Unwilling to relinquish the authorities of either science or traditional Jewish law, Lampronti creatively mediated the tensions between the two. The dissertation shows that the intellectual movements of the period not only catalyzed innovation within the realm of religious belief, they transformed religious practice and study as well.

This project argues for the persistence of biblical allegory in eighteenth-century Christian thought, contrary to the narrative of allegory’s demise, found, for instance, in the work of Peter Harrison and Hans Frei. I demonstrate that two factors in particular, the scientific revolution and Christian discourse about Jewish interpretation, shaped the content and quality of allegorical interpretations of the Bible in this century. Using the case of Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772), natural philosopher and biblical commentator, the dissertation will consider how allegory functioned amidst epistemological shifts brought on by new naturalistic and mechanistic explanations of the universe, and amidst tides of anti-Judaism and Christian Kabbalah. This project is divided into three parts, which examine the context, content, and reception of Swedenborg’s multi-volume biblical commentary, Arcana coelestia. Part one lays contextual groundwork with a brief comparative look to the commentaries of other eighteenth-century figures, both Jewish and Christian. I survey the discourse about allegory, science, and religious identity in the commentaries of William Whiston, Johan Kemper, Moses Mendelssohn, and Menaḥem Naḥum. Part two contains a close reading of Swedenborg’s interpretation of Genesis 3, revealing a bias against the two communities of interpreters he believes incapable of accessing the full depths of biblical wisdom: scientists, or the learned skeptics of natural philosophy, and the Jews. Using Harold Bloom’s concept of the “anxiety of influence” I point to resemblances in Swedenborg’s own hermeneutic to interpretive methods deemed, by either himself or those around him, to be Jewish, kabbalistic, or naturalistic. Part three examines Swedenborg’s reception, revealing a double ambivalence to Swedenborg and to allegory among figures as diverse as Immanuel Kant, John Wesley, Friedrich Oetinger, William Blake and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. These men had in common a fascination with Swedenborg’s doctrine of correspondences, but also harbored deep reservations that manifested in moments of harsh criticism and even ridicule. Despite such protestations, those interested in Swedenborg often produce reformulations of biblical allegory in their own terms. This is, therefore, a study of the relationship between texts and contexts, and the persistence of allegory even in an age that was supposedly hostile to it.
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This master thesis deals with the spiritual progress pointing to a national self-awareness in the Enlightenment era from the beginning until 1848. The Enlightenment is an European phenomenon, which is characterized by a change of thinking, and self-awareness. This idea of tolerance and human emancipation contributed to the reforms of fundamental social, political and ecclesiastical changes. These changes result not only from a philosophical influences, but also from royal reforms during the reign of Maria Theresa and Joseph II in particular. The Teresian enlightened Catholicism and Josephinian reformism fully started the journey from the Enlightenment to liberalism. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)