Synopses & Reviews
Investigates the philosophical and political significance of Judaism in seventeenth and eighteenth century Europe.
Review
"It is rare that a scholarly historical work such as Sutcliffe's can be so useful for the understanding of some of the most vexing contemporary problems - in this case, the surprising resurgence of postmodern antisemitism." The Forward"...passionate, well informed, and eloquent..." The New York Review of Books"[I]n his highly anticipated first book, Adam Sutcliffe... makes the bold claim that what has for centuries been referred to as "the Jewish question," rather than being merely a less-than-admirable aspect of Enlightenment thought, was actually of central importance in shaping it... scholars are calling Mr. Sutcliffe's work groundbreaking." The Chronicle of Higher Education
Synopsis
Includes bibliographical references (p. 262-306) and index.
About the Author
Adam Sutcliffe is Chaim Lopata Assistant Professor of European Jewish History at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Table of Contents
Introduction: disentangling Judaism and Enlightenment; Part I. The Crumbling of Old Certainties: Judaism, the Bible and the Meaning of History: 1. The crisis and decline of Christian Hebraism; 2. Hebraic politics: Respublica Mosaiaca; 3. Meaning and method: Jewish history, world history; 4. The limits of erudition: Jacques Basnage and Pierre Bayle; Part II. Judaism and the Formation of Enlightenment Radicalism: 5. Religious dissent and debate in Sephardi Amsterdam; 6. Judaism in Spinoza and his circle; 7. Spinoza: Messiah of the Enlightenment?; 8. Enlightenment and Kabbalah; 9. Judaism, reason and the critique of religion; Part III. Judaism, Nationhood and the Politics of Enlightenment: 10. Utopianism, Republicanism, Cosmopolitanism; 11. Judaism and the invention of toleration; 12. The ambiguities of Enlightenment: Voltaire and the Jews; Conclusion: reason versus myth?