Jewish Philosophy as a Guide to Life: Rosenzweig, Buber, Levinas, Wittgenstein

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Indiana University Press, Feb 19, 2008 - Religion - 136 pages
An “engagingly personal” exploration of Rosenzweig, Buber, Levinas, and the relationship between philosophy and religion (Times Literary Supplement).

In this book, distinguished philosopher and practicing Jew Hilary Putnam questions the thought of three major Jewish philosophers of the twentieth century—Franz Rosenzweig, Martin Buber, and Emmanuel Levinas—to help him reconcile the philosophical and religious sides of his life. An additional presence in the book is Ludwig Wittgenstein, who, although not a practicing Jew, thought about religion in ways that Putnam juxtaposes to the views of Rosenzweig, Buber, and Levinas.

Putnam explains the leading ideas of each of these great thinkers, bringing out what, in his opinion, constitutes the decisive intellectual and spiritual contributions of each of them. Although the religion discussed is Judaism, the depth and originality of these philosophers, as incisively interpreted by Putnam, make their thought nothing less than a guide to life.

“One of the most distinguished analytical philosophers, Putnam has written an unusual book that uses the thought of key philosophers to find points of commonality between the religious and the philosophical.” —Library Journal
 

Contents

Introduction Autobiographical
1
1 Rosenzweig and Wittgenstein
9
2 Rosenzweig on Revelation and Romance
37
3 What I and Thou Is Really Saying
55
4 Levinas on What Is Demanded of Us
68
Afterword
100
Notes
109
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About the author (2008)

Hilary Putnam is Cogan University Professor in the Department of Philosophy, Emeritus, at Harvard University. His most recent books include Pragmatism: An Open Question, The Threefold Cord, Ethics without Ontology, and Words and Life.

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