 |
|
     |
|
|
|
George Steiner has a lengthy review of Bouretz's Temoins du Futur in the February 27 issue of the London Times Literary Supplement. Bouretz's book traces the history of Jewish social thought, and particularly the connection between philosophy and messianism, from Herman Cohen through Emmanuel Levinas, taking the story, as Steiner says, "into the domain of current French philosophy." The book focuses on a series of key Jewish philosophers: Cohen, Franz Rosenzweig (friend of Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy), Martin Buber, Walter Benjamin, Ernest Bloch, Hans Jonas, Leo Strauss, and Levinas. The book is huge (over 1200 pages), but even a comparatively brief summary demonstrates the remarkable contribution of Jewish thinkers to the development of modern and postmodern philosophy. Also remarkable is the degree to which these thinkers contributed to mainstream philosophy precisely by exploring the distinctive themes of their own religion. Rosenzweig, to take but one example, criticized Hegel because his "systematic historicism . . . stood in ultimate contradiction to Revelation." Rosenzweig concluded that "systematic philosophy cannot embrace the brute yet miraculous fact of human existence (Heidegger's 'Da-sein' is not far off)."
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Monday, March 29, 2004 at 10:11 AM
Permission is given to use material on this site, provided the source is cited, blog entries are republished in full, and the author is notified in advance.
1 & 2 Kings
Brazos Theological Commentary
The Promise Of His Appearing: An Exposition Of Second Peter
A Great Mystery: Fourteen Wedding Sermons
Deep Comedy: Trinity, Tragedy, And Hope In Western Literature
Miniatures & Morals: The Christian Novels of Jane Austen
The Priesthood of the Plebs: A Theology of Baptism
A Son To Me: An Exposition of 1 & 2 Samuel
From Silence to Song: The Davidic Liturgical Revolution
Ascent to Love: A Guide to Dante's Divine Comedy
Blessed Are the Hungry: Meditations on the Lord's Supper
A House For My Name: A Survey of the Old Testament
Heroes of the City of Man: A Christian Guide to Select Ancient Literature
Brightest Heaven of Invention: A Christian Guide To Six Shakespeare Plays
Wise Words: Family Stories That Bring the Proverbs to Life
The Kingdom and the Power: Rediscovering the Centrality of the Church
