Idolatry and representation : the philosophy of Franz Rosenzweig reconsidered / Loora Batnitzky.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Batnitzky, Leora, 1966-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Judaism--Doctrines.

Judaism.

Idolatry.

Jewish philosophy.

Rosenzweig, Franz, 1886-1929.

Rosenzweig, Franz.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (viii, 281 pages)

Edition:

Course Book

Place of Publication:

Priceton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, 2000.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Although Franz Rosenzweig is arguably the most important Jewish philosopher of the twentieth century, his thought remains little understood. Here, Leora Batnitzky argues that Rosenzweig's redirection of German-Jewish ethical monotheism anticipates and challenges contemporary trends in religious studies, ethics, philosophy, anthropology, theology, and biblical studies. This text, which captures the hermeneutical movement of Rosenzweig's corpus, is the first to consider the full import of the cultural criticism articulated in his writings on the modern meanings of art, language, ethics, and national identity. In the process, the book solves significant conundrums about Rosenzweig's relation to German idealism, to other major Jewish thinkers, to Jewish political life, and to Christianity, and brings Rosenzweig into conversation with key contemporary thinkers. Drawing on Rosenzweig's view that Judaism's ban on idolatry is the crucial intellectual and spiritual resource available to respond to the social implications of human finitude, Batnitzky interrogates idolatry as a modern possibility. Her analysis speaks not only to the question of Judaism's relationship to modernity (and vice versa), but also to the generic question of the present's relationship to the past--a subject of great importance to anyone contemplating the modern statuses of religious tradition, reason, science, and historical inquiry. By way of Rosenzweig, Batnitzky argues that contemporary philosophers and ethicists must relearn their approaches to religious traditions and texts to address today's central ethical problems.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction. Reconsidering Rosenzweig and Modern Conceptions of Idolatry

PA RT I : ETHICS AND MONOTHEISM

One. The Eradication of Alien Worship: Rosenzweig as Ethical Monotheist

Two. Miracles and Martyrs, Ethics and Hermeneutics: Idolatry from Mendelssohn to Rosenzweig

Three. The Philosophical Import of Carnal Israel: Hermeneutics and the Structure of Rosenzweig's The Star of Redemption

PART II : ART AND LANGUAGE

Four Risky Images: Rosenzweig's Aesthetic Theory and Jewish Uncanniness

Five The Problem of Translation: Risking the Present for the Sake of the Past

PART III: RELIGIONAND POLITICS

Six. Risking Religion: Christian Idolatry

Seven. Risking Politics: Jewish Idolatry

Eight. After Israel: Rosenzweig's Philosophy of Risk Reconsidered

Conclusion. The Future of Monotheism

Notes

Index

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [227]-272) and index.

ISBN:

9786612767012

9781400800391

1400800390

9781400800384

1400800382

9781282767010

1282767011

9781400823581

1400823587

9781400810932

1400810930

OCLC:

700688428