Crisis of Modernity:JewishPhil

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

In this course, we will examine Jewish theological and philosophical responses to the crisis of meaning brought about by the experience of modernity. The course has two aims. The first aim is to show how Jewish thinkers attempt to restore and reinterpret the meaning of traditional religious concepts such as God, faith, creation, revelation, and redemption in an age in which their meaning has been radically called into question by the rise of science and technology and the catastrophic historical events of the 20th century. We will discuss general philosophical and theological issues such as the relationship between faith, reason, and science, the relationship between freedom, community, and religious or ethical obligation, and the meaning of history.The second aim of the course is to analyze how Jewish thinkers interpret the meaning of Jewish existence in the modern age. Here we will discuss questions such as how the focus on the perpetuation of a specifically Jewish life relates to the universalist and messianic dimensions of Judaism and the relationship between “Halakha” (Jewish law) and the ethical and spiritual aspects of Judaism.We will read selections from Hannah Arendt, Walter Benjamin, Martin Buber, Hermann Cohen, Will Herberg, Abraham Joshua Heschel, Eugen-Rosenstock-Huessy, Franz Rosenzweig, and Joseph B. Soloveichik.