What is Jewish Thought? The Modern Era

What’s left of religion once reason is done with it? This is the question posed by the Enlightenment and confronted by the major Jewish thinkers we study in this course. Some become champions of Enlightenment reason; others later react against it. Is Judaism actually a rational religion after all-universal, but endowed with a particular identity by its practices and ceremonies (per Moses Mendelssohn)? Or is it unique because of its ethical monotheism (per Hermann Cohen)? Is it essentially a national identity (per Zionism)? As Jewish thinkers face challenges to received tradition, what exactly is the task of Jewish thought? 3 hrs. lect/disc