Jewish Thought, Utopia, and Revolution

Erscheinungsjahr 2014
ISBN: 978-90-420-3833-2
Verlag: Brill | Rodopi

Buch, Englisch, Band 274, 216 Seiten, Format (B × H): 155 mm x 235 mm, Gewicht: 363 g

Reihe: Value Inquiry Book Series / Philosophy and Religion

In response to the grim realities of the present world Jewish thought has not tended to retreat into eschatological fantasy, but rather to project utopian visions precisely on to the present moment, envisioning redemptions that are concrete, immanent, and necessarily political in nature. In difficult times and through shifting historical contexts, the messianic hope in the Jewish tradition has functioned as a political vision: the dream of a peaceful kingdom, of a country to return to, or of a leader who will administer justice among the nations. Against this background, it is unsurprising that Jewish messianism in modern times has been transposed, and lives on in secular political movements and ideologies.
The purpose of this book is to contribute to the deeper understanding of the relationship between Jewish thought, utopia, and revolution, by taking a fresh look at its historical and religious roots. We approach the issue from several perspectives, with differences of opinion presented both in regard to what Jewish tradition is, and how to regard utopia and revolution. These notions are multifaceted, comprising aspects such as political messianism, religious renewal, Zionism, and different forms of Marxist and Anarchistic movements.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Weitere Mitwirkende

Namli, Elena

Svenungsson, Jayne

Vincent, Alana M.

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Jüdische Studien Jüdische Studien Jüdische Studien: Philosophie, Aufklärung, Wissenschaften
• Geisteswissenschaften Jüdische Studien Geschichte des Judentums

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Elena Namli, Jayne Svenungsson, and Alana M. Vincent: Introduction
Victor Jeleniewski Seidler: Tikkun Olam—“Repairing the World”: Embodying Redemption and Utopia
Catherine Chalier: Jewish Hope Versus Revolutionary Hope
Mattias Martinson: Adorno, Revolution, and Negative Utopia
Michael Löwy: Utopia and Revolution: The Romantic Socialism of Gustav Landauer and Martin Buber
Jayne Svenungsson: A Secular Utopia: Remarks on the Löwith-Blumenberg Debate
Carl Cederberg: Thinking Revolution With and Beyond Levinas
Alana M. Vincent: Topos and Utopia: The Place of Art in the Revolution
Oleg Budnitskii: Berlin Debates: The Jews and the Russian Revolution
Elena Namli: Jewish Rationalism, Ethics, and Revolution: Hermann Cohen in Nevel
Alexandra Polyan: Reflections of Revolutionary Movements in American Yiddish Poetry: The Case of Proletpen
Jon Wittrock: Nihilism and the Resurrection of Political Space: Hannah Arendt’s Utopia?
Björn Thorsteinsson: Left (in) Time: Hegel, Benjamin, and Derrida Facing the Status Quo
Works Cited
About the Contributors
Index

Über Autor(innen)

Elena Namli is Professor of Ethics and research director for the Centre of Russian and Eurasian Studies at Uppsala University.
Jayne Svenungsson is Associate Professor of Systematic Theology at Stockholm School of Theology.
Alana Vincent is Lecturer in Jewish Studies at the University of Chester.