99010 - History of Early Modern and Modern Jewish Philosophy (1) (LM)

Learning outcomes

After completing the course, students have an advanced understanding of the relevance of a multidisciplinary approach to the analysis of Modern and Contemporary Jewish philosophy. They are able to analyze religious phenomena through interdisciplinary approaches. They apply research methods to address issues relating to Modern and Contemporary Jewish philosophical traditions and are aware of the context of cultural, linguistic and religious pluralism.

Course contents

Through the analysis of Spinoza's fortune in early twentieth-century German Judaism, the course will be dedicated to investigating the different philosophical, theological and political positions that are present about the relationships between philosophy, politics and religion in the area of Jewish culture: orthodoxy, assimilation, religious liberalism, "moderate" enlightenment, political Zionism, cultural Zionism, "new thinking", Wissenschaft des Judentums. Starting with the emancipation processes of German Jews between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the desire for assimilation of many liberal and bourgeois Jews matured in Germany at the turn of the Great War. But this desire is counterbalanced by three opposing tendencies: the anti-Semitic movements of the conservative German right, the Jewish orthodoxy and the movements of "return" to Judaism (especially Zionism, but also the circles gathered around Franz Rosenzweig and Martin Buber). In this complex and contradictory context, theological questions and political problems, social tensions and community aspirations add up which - flanked by the debates on the crisis of modernity - agitate German and Jewish-German culture, within which an important role is played by Hermann Cohen and one of his most attentive critics (Leo Strauss) starting from the discussion on Spinoza's "Theological-Political Treatise".

Readings/Bibliography

Spinoza, Trattato teologico-politico, capp. I, II, III, V.

H. Cohen, Spinoza. Stato e religione, ebraismo e cristianesimo, a cura di R. Bertoldi, Brescia, Morcelliana, 2021.

L. Strauss, Il testamento di Spinoza, a cura di R. Caporali, Milano-Udine, Mimesis, 2016.

C. Altini, Una filosofia in esilio. Vita e pensiero di Leo Strauss, Roma, Carocci, 2021, pp. 11-118.

Non-attending students must also study this book:

H. Cohen, Kant e l’ebraismo. L’umanità come futuro di giustizia, a cura di R. Bertoldi, Brescia, Morcelliana, 2018.

Teaching methods

Lectures and analysis of texts (lectures in presence). The teaching language will be Italian. Attendance is not compulsory.

Assessment methods

Oral exam (at the end of the course). The exam consists of 3 questions on the texts presented and discussed in class. The exam is considered passed if the student answers (in a complete and reasoned way) to one question and shows to have at least basic knowledge in answering another question.

Teaching tools

Some lessons will be recorded and made available to non-attending students

Office hours

See the website of Carlo Altini