Jewish Universalisms: Mendelssohn, Cohen, and Humanity's Highest Good
Jeremy Fogel
Jewish philosophers in the Enlightenment era.
Any version of universalism relevant to a more attentive, pluralistic, and postcolonial outlook would balance the urgent current need for a universalistic perspective with the desire to maintain the richness of human diversity. The modern Jewish philosophers who sought to partake in the Enlightenment’s universalistic vision while maintaining their distinct identities as members of a religious minority within Europe offer insightful answers.
Jewish Universalisms analyzes how two major figures, Moses Mendelssohn and Hermann Cohen, dealt with the perceived tension between the universal values characteristic of the Enlightenment and aspects of Judaism often depicted as particularistic and parochial. Jeremy Fogel joins this lively debate in modern Jewish philosophy, offering a comparative examination of these thinkers and analyzing their worldviews from an innovative axiological perspective. Fogel writes that to gain a precise understanding of how Mendelssohn and Cohen argued for the concordance of Judaism and universalism, one must first seek out what they delineated as ultimately valuable. Then one can work out how that highest good, and the method of valuation it sustains, are universal.
PURCHASE FROM Brandeis university PRESS
"Though they accused us of globalizing, our ambitions were universalizing—not only the turning of the Jew into the human but also the turning of the human into the Jew. Fogel—philosopher, poet, secular gaon—relates and interprets this tradition with lucid and thoroughgoing passion."
Joshua Cohen, winner of Pulitzer Prize and the National Jewish Book Award for The Netanyahus
"Examining the works of two highly influential, modern Jewish philosophers, Jeremy Fogel guides us through a deep understanding of the universal teachings Judaism and the particular Jewish way of life have to offer. Mendelssohn’s and Cohen’s thought are driven in very distinct ways by the idea of a just political order for all of humanity. The thought-provoking, comparative inquiry is brilliantly written and a pleasure to read."
Grit Schorch
"Not being one of the admirers of the Jewish Enlightenment, I still adore the achievement of Jeremey Fogel’s Jewish Universalisms. This excellent and engaging study of an absolutely urgent quest is likely to draw much scholarly and public attention."
Yitzhak Y. Melamed, Charlotte Bloomberg Professor of Philosophy, Johns Hopkins University
"Jeremy Fogel has written a book that is philosophically insightful, thought-provoking, and enjoyable to read. His analysis shows us that 'universalism' need not be understood in only one way, and that new and different types of universalisms have been and can be possible. He thus provides us with fruitful resources for challenging the ethical problems that stem both from colonialist forms of universalism and from the abandonment of efforts at thinking universally."
Daniel H. Weiss, University of Cambridge, author of Modern Jewish Philosophy and the Politics of Divine Violence
About the Author
Jeremy Fogel teaches at Tel Aviv University’s Department of Jewish Philosophy. He is the academic director of Alma and a faculty member of the Mandel Leadership Institute in Jerusalem. He is a popular podcaster of academic and cultural contents in Israel and is involved in various artistic initiatives. Jeremy is the author of Tel Aviv is Water and Other Seasidian Thoughts. His commissioned English translation of the Song of Songs was released as a CD Book by Tzadik with John Zorn’s musical setting.