New Title in the Brandeis Library of Modern Jewish Thought

H-Judaic TOC: New Title in the Brandeis Library of Modern Jewish Thought

Discussion published by Sylvia Fuks Fried on Sunday, July 25, 2021

The Tauber Institute and Brandeis University Press are pleased to announce the publication of Hermann Cohen: Writings on Neo-Kantianism and Jewish Philosophy, edited by Samuel Moyn and Robert S. Schine. Hermann Cohen (1842–1918) was among the most accomplished Jewish philosophers in modern times, yet his work has not yet received the attention it deserves. Just as Moses Maimonides sought to recast medieval Jewish thought through the Islamic reception of Platonic and Aristotelian philosophy, Cohen leveraged his understanding of Immanuel Kant as the beacon of a modern philosophy of individual freedom, an idea that therefore should serve as the basis for a philosophy of Judaism. Moreover, Cohen asserted that Kantian ethics drew from the wellspring of Judaism, especially its prophetic sources. This volume presents three elements of Cohen’s thought as entailing one another: the philosophy of Judaism, neo- Kantianism, and prophetically inspired commitments to social democracy and the dignity of all. This new collection of Hermann Cohen’s writings, most of which are appearing in English for the first time, illuminates his achievements for student readers and rectifies lapses in his intellectual reception by prior generations. It presents chapters from Cohen’s earlier Ethics of Pure Will and essays connecting politics, Judaism, and philosophy. The volume also presents conflicting interpretations of Cohen by Franz Rosenzweig and Alexander Altmann. Ernst Cassirer’s eulogy for Cohen delivered at his graveside also appears here for the first time in English. Containing full annotations and selections that concentrate on both the philosophical core of Cohen’s neo-Kantian ethical writings and the politics of interpretation of his work at the time of his death and afterward, this anthology allows the reader to register anew the force of Cohen’s achievement.

Contents Foreword vii Acknowledgments ix Introduction xi A Note on Terms xxiii Abbreviations xxvii I | Ethics of Pure Will (1907) 1 1 | Introduction 3 2 | The Idea of God 69 II | Lectures and Essays 101 3 | The Social Ideal in Plato and the Prophets (1916) 105 4 | Internal Connections of Kantian Philosophy to Judaism (1910) 130 5 | The Significance of Judaism for the Progress of Religion (1910) 150 6 | Autonomy and Freedom (1900) 167 III | Coda 175 7 | Ernst Cassirer: Remarks at Hermann Cohen’s Grave, April 7, 1918 177 8 | Franz Rosenzweig: Introduction to the Jewish Writings of Hermann Cohen (1924) 184 9 | Alexander Altmann: Hermann Cohen’s Concept of Correlation

Citation: Sylvia Fuks Fried. TOC: New Title in the Brandeis Library of Modern Jewish Thought. H-Judaic. 07-25-2021. https://networks.h-net.org/node/28655/discussions/7970094/new-title-brandeis-library-modern-jewish-thought Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. 1 H-Judaic

(1962) 242 Suggestions for Further Reading 263 Index 265