A New Physiognomy Of Jewish Thinking

A New Physiognomy of Jewish Thinking is a search for authenticity that combines critical thinking with a yearning for heartfelt poetics. A physiognomy of thinking addresses the figure of a life lived where theory and praxis are unified. This study explores how the critical essays on music of German-Jewish thinker, Theodor Wiesengrund Adorno (1903-1969) necessarily accompany the downfall of metaphysics. By scrutinizing a critical juncture in modern intellectual history, marked in 1931 by Adorno's founding of the Frankfurt Institute for Social Research, neglected applications of Critical Theory to Jewish Thought become possible. This study proffers a constructive justification of a critical standpoint, reconstructively shown how such ideals are seen under the genealogical proviso of re/cognizing their original meaning. Re/cognition of A New Physiognomy of Jewish Thinking redresses neglected applications of Negative Dialectics, the poetics of God, the metaphysics of musical thinking, reification in Zionism, the transpoetics of Physics and Metaphysics, as well as correlating Aesthetic Theory to Jewish Law (halakhah).

Jewish philosophy responds to the challenges of today's world. By studying the ideas of great contemporary thinkers, readers will achieve a rich understanding of our contemporary spiritual needs.

Elliot R. Wolfson is Professor of Religious Studies and the Marsha and Jay Glazer Chair of Jewish Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

This anthology reflects on the future of Jewish philosophy in light of the Library of Contemporary Jewish Philosophers (Brill, 2013-2018). The essays assess the academic contribution and cultural importance of Jewish philosophy and offer paths for its future growth.

From antiquity to the contemporary period, the dog has captured the Jewish imagination. In medieval Christendom, the image of the dog was often used to characterize and demean Jewish populations. In the interwar period, dogs were still considered goyishe nakhes ("a gentile pleasure") and virtually unheard of in the Jewish homes of the shtetl. Yet, 'Azit the paratrooping dog of modern Israeli cinema, one of many examples of dogs as heroes of the Zionist narrative, demonstrates that the dog has captured the contemporary Jewish imagination. This book discusses specific cultural manifestations of the relationship between dogs and Jews, from ancient times to the present. Covering a geographical range extending from the Middle East through Europe and to North America, the book's contributors provide a unique cross-cultural, trans-national, diachronic perspective. An important theme in the book is the constant tension between domination/control and partnership which underpins the relationship of humans to animals, as well as the connection between Jewish societies and their broader host cultures.

Keine Angaben

What are the key questions highlighted in religious and spiritual education today? Many global processes such as migration, pluralism and the redefinition of citizenship challenge the traditional notions of borders concerning cultures, states and nationalities, ethnicities and even religions. Consequently, in societies today, the distinction in religions or identities between global and local or inside and outside no longer functions well. As the many borders in our world are becoming again more transparent and cultures blended, there is an increasing and constant need to re-examine the conceptions and theories concerning religion, dialogue and education. This volume brings together 14 new international studies based on selected presentations from the 14th Nordic Conference on Religious Education. The topics of the articles include studies on religion, dialogue and education in different contexts ranging from policy studies and higher education to home education, and research on education about religions to confessional education. The volume serves the interests of researchers, policymakers, practitioners and students of religious and spiritual education.

This is the second book of the anticipated 10-volume Mesorah Matrix series and is called: Tikun Olam; Repair/Perfect the World: Judaism, Humanism and Transcendence. Mesorah Matrix is a major - and potentially landmark - intellectual-spiritual-philosophical endeavor. The plan well-underway is to publish 10 separate books - each on a very focused Jewish theme - under the Mesorah Matrix umbrella.