Socrates and the Jews: Hellenism and Hebraism from Moses Mendelssohn to Sigmund Freud"What has Athens to do with Jerusalem?” Asked by the early Christian Tertullian, the question was vigorously debated in the nineteenth century. While classics dominated the intellectual life of Europe, Christianity still prevailed and conflicts raged between the religious and the secular. Taking on the question of how the glories of the classical world could be reconciled with the Bible, Socrates and the Jews explains how Judaism played a vital role in defining modern philhellenism. Exploring the tension between Hebraism and Hellenism, Miriam Leonard gracefully probes the philosophical tradition behind the development of classical philology and considers how the conflict became a preoccupation for the leading thinkers of modernity, including Matthew Arnold, Moses Mendelssohn, Kant, Marx, Nietzsche, and Freud. For each, she shows how the contrast between classical and biblical traditions is central to writings about rationalism, political subjectivity, and progress. Illustrating how the encounter between Athens and Jerusalem became a lightning rod for intellectual concerns, this book is a sophisticated addition to the history of ideas. |
Contents
Athens and Jerusalem | 1 |
Moses Mendelssohn and Immanuel Kant | 17 |
Greeks Jews and the Hegelian Dialectic | 65 |
Hebrews Hellenes Aryans and Semites | 105 |
Feuerbach Marx Nietzsche | 139 |
Sigmund Freud | 177 |
Metaphors we live by | 217 |
225 | |
237 | |
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Abraham abstract Acropolis ambivalent analysis ancient anti-Semitism antiquity antithesis argues Arnold Aryan Athens Athens and Jerusalem beauty become biblical Birth of Tragedy characterization Christ civil classical conception contemporary context contrast critique culture David Strauss debate Derrida despite dialectic dialogue discourse egoism Enlightenment essay ethical European Feuerbach figure formulation freedom French Revolution Freud German philhellenism Greece Greek/Jew Greeks and Jews Hamann Hebrew Hegel Hegelian Heine Heine's Hellenism and Hebraism Herder human Ibid ideal identity immortality Indo-European intellectual Jerusalem Jesus Jewish emancipation Jewish Question Jews Judaism Kant Kant’s language Lavater Marchand Marx Marx's metaphysical modern moral Moses and Monotheism Moses Mendelssohn narrative nation nature Nietzsche Nietzsche's nineteenth century Noah Olender opposition pagan Phaedon philhellenism philology philosophy Plato political emancipation preoccupation race racial reason relationship religion religious Renan role Roman Rome secular seems seen Semitic Socrates soul Strauss Tertullian theological thought tion tradition tragedy truth writes