Survey of Modern and Contemporary Jewish Philosophy: Evil and Suffering

Catalog description

An introduction to modern and contemporary Jewish philosophy focusing in particular on the problem of evil and suffering through post-Holocaust Jewish thought. Thinkers to be studied will include Baruch Spinoza, Moses Mendelssohn, Hermann Cohen, Martin Buber, Franz Rosenzweig, Abraham Isaac Kook, Joseph Soloveitchik, Eliezer Berkovits, Emil Fackenheim, and Emmanuel Levinas. Emphasis will be placed on philosophical analysis of the responses studied and their bearing on questions concerning the nature of modern Jewish philosophy. The course aims to furnish you with the ability to 1) identify the main ideas and arguments presented in the primary texts and situate them in the correct historical and conceptual contexts; 2) assess the conceptual content of the central ideas and arguments; and 3) engage critically with the secondary literature.