Rosenzweig's "new thinking" can be seen, among other things, as the vanishing point of two gazes: one addressed to the "old philosophy" of the past, the other to the postmodernity of the present. The goal of the present essay is therefore twofold: on the one hand, to go back retrospectively to the relationship between critical idealism and the theoretical proposal represented by "Der Stern der Erlösung"; on the other hand, to evaluate, in a perspectival way, what the latter has to (...) say in relation to the philosophy of difference. It is thus possible to investigate the meaning of philosophizing in general and to assess the relevance of Rosenzweig's thought in particular. New thinking is all the more fruitful because it exists in a close dialectic relationship with modern rationality, grasping its "up-to-here-and-no-further" boundary; at the same time, it presents analogies with the postmodern philosophy of difference, without, however, reaching the same antirational conclusions. As for the meaning of philosophizing, Rosenzweig famously thought that the religious experience of revelation could offer a space-time orientation, which is why it was the keystone of his new thinking. However, if one wants to prescind from the "belief" element and find a meaning and orientation in the alogical and purposeless context of postmodernity, one has to yearn for a form that is present in absence: this tension finds its foundation in the up-to-here-and-no-further of critical idealism and is continually reconfigured in relation to difference, both thought-of and experienced. (shrink)

The philosophical question "what is?" plays different roles in the work of Cohen and Rosenzweig. According to Cohen, it expresses the authentic meaning of the Socratic concept, which has its methodical-transcendental foundation in the Platonic Idea as answer, since it gives an account of the concept. So Cohen turns the question into an epistemological problem, because it ultimately refers to the necessary condition of knowledge. In contrast, Rosenzweig sees in the "what is?" question grounds to condemn the "old" philosophy founded (...) on the identity of being and thought. In his view, the question is the original sin of the "philosophy of the All", which has always reduced everything to something completely different by means of the altering word "is" in the "is"-question. Nevertheless, with regard to the "what is?" question, it is possible to detect a kind of agreement between the two philosophers: namely, Rosenzweig opposes a claim of ontological reduction that Cohen also rejects. (shrink)

Reiner Wiehl has always drawn scholarly attention to the more strictly philosophical aspects of Rosenzweig's work. His essays can be put beside those of Jürgen Habermas, Hans-Georg Gadamer and Emmanuel Levinas. As a matter of fact his interpretation of "The Star of Redemption" is philosophically problematic, doubting and questioning, so that it has been particularly fruitful in the effects, i.e. in indicating to the scholars new hermeneutical ways.

In Franz Rosenzweig's "The Star of Redemption" the chorus comes on stage in three forms: chorus in tragedy (with its presence in ancient classical tragedy and its absence in modern one), chorus of redemption and chorus in church music. Analyzing the role of chorus is useful to study Rosenzweig's aesthetics, which is in a way a "classical" art theory, but not an idealistic "pure" aesthetics, inasmuch as art must be "applied" art. An idealistic pure art condemns us to live in (...) an hortus conclusus, far away from God and from life, while an applied art brings us near to the lost gan 'eden. (shrink)

Il contributo intende rilevare le tracce della presenza di Feuerbach negli scritti di Franz Rosenzweig, al fine di rilevare un percorso interpretativo appena intrapreso dall'autore della "Stella della redenzione", ma che pure è stato per lui significativo ai fini della formulazione del "nuovo pensiero".

Philosophical counseling has faced the problem of therapy in different ways. At the beginning, it adopted a wholly negative stance against psychotherapy; later it developed a more critical and articulate awareness. More specifically, and more productively, in recent years philosophical practitioners have tried to answer the question whether their counseling may have a therapeutic function. This article aims to outline some significant attitudes of philosophical practitioners toward the therapeutic issue. By way of conclusion, it offers some personal reflections on philosophy (...) as therapy. (shrink)

Il concetto di nulla viene assunto come chiave ermeneutica per accostare la proposta teoretica di uno dei maggiori rappresentanti del pensiero ebraico contemporaneo: Franz Rosenzweig (1886-1929). Attraverso l'analisi dei luoghi, delle accezioni e delle valenze con cui il nulla si presenta nelle pagine della "Stella della redenzione", si evidenzia come ai diversi significati attribuiti da Rosenzweig a questo concetto corrispondano differenti modi di intendere la filosofia. I temi della filosofia del nulla, della creatio ex nihilo e della morte intesa come (...) nulla esistenziale scandiscono la lettura dell'opus maius di Rosenzweig e mostrano come egli, nel teorizzare un "nuovo pensiero" che vuole rendere conto dell'esperienza religiosa attraverso categorie alternative a quelle onnicomprensive della tradizione filosofica, rimanga per certi versi ancora legato all'idealismo critico. (shrink)

The essay investigates the philosophical practice, firstly focusing on its method and relationship with applied ethics. Afterwards, it explores some applied ethics issues regarding philosophical practice like the therapeutic issue, the risk of philosophical illnesses, the interaction between intellect and will as well as the healthy human understanding. In this way, it aims to outline some paths that can be fruitfully explored by philosophical practitioners and academic researcher together.

Monographic issue of "Teoria" (Vol. 36, No. 2) devoted to the so-called "applied ethics". It offers an introduction to the main studies, while providing precise theoretical proposals about them, thanks to the contributions of valid specialists.

The "healthy human understanding" presents a theme of constant struggle for Rosenzweig, above all with regard to his determination of the essence of philosophy, because this concept acquires for him an anti-philosophical hue that colors both theory of knowledge and ethics. This contribution follows the traces of the healthy human understanding in Rosenzweig's works. On this background, it is determined that the "old" philosophy falls into a deep discontent, in contrast to the contentment of the "philosophy of healthy human understanding". (...) The discontent of the latter nevertheless also becomes apparent, however, because it is incapable of giving an account of itself. In this regard, one can find a horizon of research precisely in that "rational treatment" which Rosenzweig mocks as "Criticin-vaccination". The essay "What does it mean to orient oneself in thinking?" in which Kant, among other things, defines the common healthy reason, offers a convincing approach to a faith which partakes of rationality. (shrink)

The paper aims to present the proprium dialogicum of the café philo. In theoretical terms, the philosophical dialogue in the café philo can be recognized as discursive rationality and play of the faculties ruled by the logistikon, as an exercise of critical thinking, as an endless quest of meaning, and finally as a way of life. All those theoretical acquisitions are tested by the comparison with results from one year of praxis of café philo, part of the Diderot Project supported (...) by the Fondazione CRT of Torino, conducted with more than 2.000 high-school students of Piedmont. (shrink)