Modern Jewish Philosophy begins in the seventeenth century, when
attempts to understand Judaism were challenged by historical and
intellectual developments, such as the rise of the New Science, the
emergence of new modes of political thinking and practices, and the
growth of Protestant cultures in Europe.  What makes such reflection
about Judaism philosophical is its engagement with the Western
philosophical tradition.  Central figures are Baruch Spinoza in the
17th century and Moses Mendelssohn in the 18th, the former of whom
was deeply committed to Cartesian philosophy and the latter to
Enlightenment rationalism.  Although they reflected upon Judaism for
different reasons and with different attitudes, both sought to
negotiate the relationship between Judaism and philosophical thought.

The same can be said of the major figures in the tradition of Jewish
philosophy in the twentieth century.  In this course, we will focus
on them and the worlds in which they lived and worked.  First, we
will look at European intellectual culture in the period between
1890 and 1940 by discussing some prominent philosophers,
theologians, social thinkers, novelists, and poets of the period.
We will then study central Jewish philosophical figures of the
period, especially Hermann Cohen, Martin Buber, and Franz Rosenzweig.