"Religion", the "Political" and "Judaism" in classical German philosophy (2017 - 2022)

This project was funded by the DFG.

Abstract

My research project will be concerned with concepts of religion, the political, and Judaism in the philosophy of Kant and in German idealism. I will argue that these philosophers' concept of Judaism was neither determined solely by personal acquaintances nor by knowledge of Jewish theology and religion, nor can it be traced back to either classical positions on Judaism in Christian theology or philosophers such as Spinoza and Mendelssohn, who are generally seen as the source of influence in this regard.

I will not defend the view that these factors played no role at all in this respect. My thesis is instead that these philosophers' analysis of the concept of Judaism is based on other irreducible considerations internal to their systems.

These considerations require particular attention in order to better understand how Judaism is conceived of in the works of these philosophers. I will further argue that, despite the differences between their respective works, these philosophers have a basic idea in common. This idea lies in the challenge raised by Kantian philosophy to bridge the gap between reason and its manifestation in history. It is impossible for reason to manifest itself immediately in history, and its manifestation makes necessary an absolute negation of all that has gone before.

Kant identifies the object of this negation with the negation of the political, which he equates in this context with Judaism. Fichte, Schelling, and Hegel each build on various aspects of this particular Kantian problematization to bridge the aforementioned gap between reason and history. Their concept of Judaism cannot be understood without taking into account the context of the Kantian legacy.

Finally, I intend to discuss links between these concepts of Judaism, which are rooted in the understanding of religion and politics in general, and later anti-semitic developments of the 20th century, without identifiying the philosophical context of Kant and German idealism with later developments, because the assumption of a linear causal relationship in developments in the history of ideas is misleading. On the other hand, the later developments have to be seen in relation to their historical precursors, because otherwise they would have to be viewed as incomprehensible events which resembled a fracture within history.

The best way to explore this connection is therefore to ask what ingredients in the thought of Kant, Fichte, Hegel, and Schelling made it possible to (ab)use their philosophy in such ways.

Project information

Project title
Die "Religion", das "Politische" und das "Judentum" in der klassischen deutschen Philosophie
["Religion", the "Political" and "Judaism" in classical German philosophy]
Funded by
DFG
Project link
Die "Religion", das "Politische" und das "Judentum" in der klassischen deutschen Philosophie
Project duration
2017 - 2022
Funds awarded
unknown
Project team
Dr. Amit Kravitz
Associated Chair
Chair of Metaphysics