Topics in 20th Century Jewish Philosophy

Catalog description

Topics include Judaism and Pragmatism; and a family of 20th century European Jewish philosophers: Martin Buber, Franz Rosenzweig and Emmanuel Levinas. We may explore the similarities and differences in these thinkers' understandings of selfhood, intersubjectivity, and the significance of Jewish sacred texts for contemporary Jews. We may also consider the extent to which the theological questions raised by the Shoah account for some of the profound differences between Levinas's thought and that of Rosenzweig, despite the former s assertion in Totality and Infinity that Rosenzweig's Star of Redemption was a work too often present in this book to be cited. May be repeated for credit.