Academic Studies Press Faith, Reason, Politics: Essays on the History of Jewish Thought (Reference Library of Jewish Intellectual History Series)

The past decade has witnessed renewed interest in the faith-reason debate. But all too often the debate is treated in generic terms, without paying attention either to differences between religious traditions or to the historical development of these traditions. Judaism, with its emphasis on religious law, yields insights into the political ramifications of the problem that differ greatly from Christian approaches. In Faith, Reason, Politics, Michah Gottlieb explores Jewish approaches to the faith-reason debate through detailed analyses of Jewish thinkers from the twelfth to the twentieth centuries including Judah Halevi, Maimonides, Spinoza, Moses Mendelssohn, Samson Raphael Hirsch, and Leo Strauss, This book will appeal to scholars and students interested in the problem of faith versus reason and in the relationship between religion and politics.  Review "Faith, Reason, Politics: Essays in the History of Jewish Thought brings together several penetrating studies of the relationship between faith and reason in the history of Jewish thought. Gottlieb writes with rigor and cogency about the medieval thinkers Judah Halevi and Moses Maimonides and the modern tradition beginning with Baruch Spinoza and Moses Mendelssohn, and highlights the diversity and complexity of approaches to the relationship between reason, faith, morality, mysticism, and religious practice. The essays offer probing and novel analyses and methodological insights; the volume ends with a passionate defense of the contemporary significance of religious rationalism. Gottlieb's historical and philosophical investigations are astute, his writing lucid and engaging. The volume is a superb contribution to the analysis of the Jewish philosophical tradition.--Diana Lobel, Boston University "This is an excellent collection of essays by a learned and perceptive young scholar. Michah Gottlieb's insights into the relation between medieval and modern Jewish philosophy are fascinating and thought-provoking.--Warren Zev Harvey, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem With Faith and Freedom: Moses Mendelssohn's Theological Political Thought, Michah Gottieb has established himself as a top scholar of modern Jewish philosophy. The current collection of essays is another superb contribution to the field.--Yitzhak Y. Melamed, Johns Hopkins University About the Author Michah Gottlieb (PhD Indiana University) is assistant professor in the Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies at NYU. Previously he taught at Brown University. He had held fellowships at Princeton University, at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and the Humanities Initiative at NYU. He is author of Faith and Freedom: Moses Mendelssohn’s Theological-Political Thought (Oxford University Press, 2011) and editor of Moses Mendelssohn: Writings on Judaism, Christianity and the Bible (University Press of New England, 2011).