FRANZ ROSENZWEIG'S HEGEL AND THE STATE: BIOGRAPHY, HISTORY AND TRAGEDY by JOSIAH B. SIMON A DISSERTATION Presented to the Department of German and Scandinavian and the Graduate School of the University of Oregon in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy June 2014 DISSERTATION APPROVAL PAGE Student: Josiah B. Simon Title: Franz Rosenzweig's Hegel and the State: Biography, History and Tragedy This dissertation has been accepted and approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy degree in the Department of German and Scandinavian by: Jeffrey Librett Chairperson Martin Klebes Core Member Kenneth Calhoon Core Member John McCole Institutional Representative and Kimberly Andrews Espy Vice President for Research and Innovation; Dean of the Graduate School Original approval signatures are on file with the University of Oregon Graduate School. Degree awarded June 2014 ii © 2014 Josiah B. Simon iii DISSERTATION ABSTRACT Josiah B. Simon Doctor of Philosophy Department of German and Scandinavian June 2014 Title: Franz Rosenzweig's Hegel and the State: Biography, History and Tragedy Franz Rosenzweig (1886-1929) is known today as one of the most influential German Jewish intellectuals of the twentieth century. His most celebrated work, The Star of Redemption, has earned him a reputation as a challenging religious thinker with increasing relevance for contemporary religious, philosophical and historical debates. However, this legacy has largely ignored his first published book, Hegel and the State (1920). My dissertation is the first English-language monograph to fully explore Rosenzweig's intellectual biography of Hegel, making a contribution to contemporary Hegel and Rosenzweig scholarship alike. I offer an analysis that draws on the formal characteristics of the work—such as the epigraph, the narrative and biographical structure, as well as the historical presuppositions of the foreword and the conclusion—to show how Rosenzweig's interpretation of Hegel's key texts, culminating in the Philosophy of Right, is informed by his own biographical development and the influence of thinkers such as Wilhelm Dilthey and Friedrich Meinecke. By recasting his critique of Hegel’s political thinking into biographical and historical terms, I ultimately argue that Rosenzweig's narrative in Hegel and the State is a tragic foil for his own development as a German historian. In Rosenzweig's interpretation, the relationship between the individual and the state championed by Hegel ends in the tragic separation of the iv individual from the reconciliatory promise of Idealist thought. By unearthing Rosenzweig's latent theory of tragedy in Hegel and the State—evidenced most clearly in how he situates the figures of Friedrich Hölderlin and Napoleon—I argue that the historical and philosophical crisis that marked the beginning of the twentieth century, and particularly Rosenzweig's own biographical crisis, shapes his work as the author of Hegel and the State. In addition to providing a critical commentary on the cultural, philosophical and literary history of the German nation, as well as providing the first English translation of many passages from Hegel and the State, my dissertation lays the necessary groundwork for a reinterpretation of Rosenzweig's critique of German Idealism in The Star of Redemption. v CURRICULUM VITAE NAME OF AUTHOR: Josiah B. Simon GRADUATE AND UNDERGRADUATE SCHOOLS ATTENDED: University of Oregon, Eugene Universität Kassel, Kassel, Germany University of New Mexico, Albuquerque Universität Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany DEGREES AWARDED: Doctor of Philosophy, German, 2014, University of Oregon Master of Arts, German, 2006, University of New Mexico Bachelor of Arts, Philosophy and Germany, 2004, University of New Mexico AREAS OF SPECIAL INTEREST: 19th and early 20th Century German Literature and Philosophy Intellectual History Critical Theory Film History German Jewish Studies and Religious Thought Translation PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: Graduate Teaching Fellow, Department of German and Scandinavian, University of Oregon, 2008-2014. German Instructor, Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures, University of New Mexico, 2004-2006. PUBLICATIONS: Simon, Josiah. "On the Origins of Rosenzweig's "Metaethics": Kant, Hegel and Goethe." Proceedings of the Internationale Rosenzweig Gesellschaft. Forthcoming. Web. vi Schmied-Kowarzik, Wolfdietrich. "Brief Illuminations on the Dialogue between Franz Rosenzweig and Hans Ehrenberg." Trans. Josiah Simon. Das Rosenzweig Jahrbuch/Rosenzweig Yearbook, Band 8. Freiburg: Verlag Karl Alber, Forthcoming. Schmied-Kowarzik, Wolfdietrich. "Philosophy of Revelation. Remarks on Schelling, Jaspers and Rosenzweig." Trans. Josiah Simon. Philosophical Faith and the Future of Humanity. Ed. Wautischer. New York: Springer, 2012. 147-158. Simon, Josiah and Jules Simon. "Hegel und der Staat." Franz Rosenzweig. Religionsphilosoph aus Kassel. Ed. Schmied-Kowarzik and Schulz- Jander. Kassel: Euregio Verlag, 2011. 31-37. Simon, Josiah. Rev. of Rosenzweig im Gespräch mit Ehrenberg, Cohen und Buber, by Wolfdietrich Schmied-Kowarzik. Das Rosenzweig Jahrbuch/Rosenzweig Yearbook, Band 3. Freiburg: Verlag Karl Alber, 2008. 273-83. Simon, Josiah. "Walter Benjamin’s "The Life of Students"." Best Student Essays, Fall 2004. University of New Mexico: Student Publications Board, 2004. vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would first like to thank my dissertation committee: John McCole, for his insightful questions and suggestions, which helped better orient my project historically; Ken Calhoon, for his inspiration as a teacher in general and especially for offering his course on tragedy in the Fall of 2008, which significantly informed the direction of my dissertation; Martin Klebes, to whom I owe perhaps the greatest gratitude. Martin was the chair of my MA committee at the University of New Mexico, where the first phase of this project was carried out. He graciously supported and encouraged me then and has ever since. But moreover, as a teacher, Martin always pushed me into new areas of inquiry and knowledge. I cannot overstate the degree to which he has shaped my intellectual development; Jeffrey Librett, the chair of my committee, for his unfailing trust in this project and the freedom he gave me to follow my own trajectory. Also for organizing a reading group on Rosenzweig's Star of Redemption, which helped me to keep the spark for Rosenzweig alive. For reading over the many drafts of my dissertation, especially the very early drafts, which were surely unbearable at times. And finally, I would like to thank Jeffrey for the fine example his has set as an academic scholar, an example I am honored to follow. I owe a very special thanks to the International Rosenzweig Society, and especially Wolfdietrich Schmied-Kowarzik, who from very early on acknowledged the importance of my work for the field. Over the years, the Rosenzweig Society provided me with both financial and intellectual support, without which I could not have finished viii this project. While writing my dissertation, my thoughts were often directed towards the many fine minds of this Society and I hope my work is a worthy addition to our field. I would especially like to thank my family: My brother Jared for the many years of stimulating discussion and for always helping to keep my wits sharpened; my sister Rebekah, for he constant emotional and intellectual support, for always being there when I needed someone to lean on; my mother Kate, for her trust and encouragement—always believing in me, whether my interests where in skateboarding, juggling or Hegel—and for providing me with the maternal support and faith without which I may have given up on this project long ago; finally my father, Julius, whose own work on Rosenzweig and example as a teacher were my inspirations for beginning a career as an academic. Julius was always there to offer me advice both in academia and in life. Many of the ideas and interpretations in my dissertation I owe directly to our conversations over the years. Our planned translation of Hegel and the State into English was the main catalyst for my dissertation and I sincerely hope that this dream will see the light of day before another ten years have passed! Finally, I would like to thank my wife and best friend, Kirstin, whose faith in me is inestimable. Kirstin, this dissertation is as much yours as it is mine. Despite the difficulty of the work itself, I learned more from your own strength, wisdom and love than from all the books I could ever read. It is our shared life of love and the vision of our shared future—together with our daughter Iris—that inspired me to finish this work. I am lucky and blessed to have such a wonderful soul by my side. ix TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. INTRODUCING HEGEL AND THE STATE ........................................................... 1 Preface: A Letter to Wolfdietrich Schmied-Kowarzik ......................................... 1 Introductory Remarks ............................................................................................ 6 Personality and Work ............................................................................................. 12 On Historicism ...................................................................................................... 16 Biography as Form ................................................................................................. 19 Rosenzweig's "Vorwort" .......................................................................................