Rethinking Jewish Philosophy Beyond Particularism and Universalism [Hardcover]

Jewish thought is, in many ways, a paradox. Is it theology or is it philosophy? Does it use universal methods to articulate Judaism's particularity or does it justify Judaism's particularity with appeals to illuminating the universal? These two sets of claims are difficult if not impossible to reconcile, and their tension reverberates throughout the length and breadth of Jewish philosophical writing, from Saadya Gaon in the ninth century to Emmanuel Levinas in the twentieth.



Rethinking Jewish Philosophyoffers a deeply felt exploration of Jewish philosophy and will prove to be an essential and enduring text in its field.

Acknowledgements
Preface

Introduction: Occupation
Chapter One: Impossibilities
Chapter Two: Irreconcilability
Chapter Three: Kaddish
Chapter Four: Authoritarianism: A Case Study
Chapter Five: Rosenzweig's Patient
Chapter Six: Beyond

Notes
Bibliography
Index

Hughes s book is both instructive and provocative. For scholars teaching or conducting research in the field of Jewish philosophy, the questions that Hughes raises cannot be ignored....Hughes has opened up an important discussion that cannot be dismissed. --AJS Review

A comprehensive, historically nuanced examination of 'Jewish philosophy' that challenges pervasive, long-held assumptions regarding the nature of the field. --Shofar: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Jewish Studies

Aaron Hughes proposes no less than a deconstruction of the category of Jewish Philosophy. In an approach that is sensitive to history yet resolute in its conclusions, Hughes foregrounds the paradoxes and impossibilities of identity politics inherent in particular/universal binarisms, and enjoins us to enter a liberating engagement with Jewish metaphilosophy. A deeply thoughtful and principled work that should become essential reading for all students of Jewish philosophical thinking. --Se?n Hand, Proflª