Emil J. Fackenheim

by Patterson, David

• ISBN13: 9780815631835
• ISBN10: 0815631839
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-02-01
• Publisher: Syracuse Univ Pr

Summary

Emil Fackenheim was the last in a long line of Jewish philosophers to emerge from Germany, the modern center of Western philosophy, following Moses Mendelssohn, Leo Baeck, and Martin Buber. What distinguishes Fackenheim from the others is his profound engagement with the Holocaust. In this revealing book, David Patterson explores Fackenheim's rigorous pursuit of a philosophical response to the tragedy. Fackenheim's writing sheds light on the tensions between Jewish thinking and German philosophy, illustrating how elements of the latter were used by the Nazis to justify Jewish annihilation. In addition, he emphasizes the important implications of defining Jewish philosophy as its own entity, separate from the tenets of the Jewish cultural tradition.

Author Biography

David Patterson is the Bornblum Chair in Judaic Studies at the University of Memphis

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
Acknowledgments	p. xxi
Introduction: The Last of the German Jewish Philosophers	p. 1
The Philosophical Roots of the Holocaust	p. 30
The Jewish Encounter with Modern Philosophy	p. 57
The Matter of Singularity	p. 92
From Auschwitz to Jerusalem	p. 123
Tikkun Haolam	p. 155
Closing Reflections	p. 186
References	p. 195
Index	p. 207
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