Tertium Datur: A Reading of Rosenzweigs New Thinking (Apeliotes. Studien zur Kulturgeschichte und Theologie Book 15)

In his essay Das neue Denken (1925), Franz Rosenzweig warns against the "danger of understanding the new thinking in the sense, or rather the nonsense, of ‘irrational’ tendencies such as, for example, the ‘philosophy of life.’ Everyone clever enough to have steered clear of the jaws of the idealistic Charybdis seems nowadays to be drawn into the dark whirlpool of this Scylla". The Homeric metaphor of Scylla and Charybdis provides the general guidelines Rosenzweig seems to stick to in developing his ‘new thinking.’ Not only does it avoid the dangers of idealism and irrationalism charting a third way between them, but it also takes shape as a combination of philosophy and Jewish thought ― a combination irreducible to each of its terms, and thus representing a tertium datur beyond them. Introduction ......................................................................................................... 11Three Spheres. Three Epochs. Three Ways .............................................. 17Antiquity ............................................................................................................... 18Middle Ages ......................................................................................................... 19Modernity ............................................................................................................. 20Reduction ............................................................................................................. 22Three Ways ........................................................................................................... 25The First Way: Hegel ......................................................................................... 29Two Attitudes of Thought .................................................................................. 30Hegel's Attitude of Thought ................................................................................ 33The Three Spheres in Hegel's Philosophy ......................................................... 35The Divine ....................................................................................................... 36The Natural-Worldly ...................................................................................... 38The Human ...................................................................................................... 39Hegel and Rosenzweig ........................................................................................ 41The Second Way: Nietzsche ........................................................................... 47Nietzsche's Irrationalism for Rosenzweig ......................................................... 49Against Values and Hierarchies ......................................................................... 50Nietzsche and Hegel ............................................................................................ 54The Three Spheres in Nietzsche's Philosophy .................................................. 57The Divine ....................................................................................................... 58The Natural-Worldly ...................................................................................... 60The Human ...................................................................................................... 61Nietzsche and Rosenzweig ................................................................................. 62The Third Way: Rosenzweig .......................................................................... 69Rosenzweig Versus Idealism I: Elements ......................................................... 70Beyond the Human ........................................................................................ 71Beyond the Natural-Worldly ......................................................................... 74Beyond the Divine .......................................................................................... 75Rosenzweig Versus Idealism II: Nothingness and Irrationality .................... 77Nothingness ..................................................................................................... 78Irrationality ...................................................................................................... 81Rosenzweig Versus Irrationalism ...................................................................... 83Trendelenburg ................................................................................................. 84Kierkegaard ..................................................................................................... 87Nietzsche .......................................................................................................... 90Truth as Relation ................................................................................................. 92Ex Negativo ..................................................................................................... 93Ex Positivo ....................................................................................................... 95Theory and Praxis .............................................................................................. 100The Three Spheres in Rosenzweig's 'New Thinking' ......................... 103The Divine .......................................................................................................... 104The Natural-Worldly ......................................................................................... 110The Human ......................................................................................................... 117Between and Beyond Hegel and Nietzsche .................................................... 135The Three Paths in Rosenzweig's 'New Thinking' .............................. 139Explicit References and Implicit Analogies ................................................... 141'Quod sit' and 'Quid sit' in Der Stern der Erlosung ....................................... 149Between God and World: The Path of Creation ............................................ 154The Creator: Divine Power .......................................................................... 155The Creature: Worldly Existence ................................................................ 158Rosenzweig Versus Hegel: Creation Versus Production ......................... 161Rosenzweig Versus Nietzsche: Creation Versus Eternal Return ............ 165A Keyword for Creation: 'Relational Otherness' ...................................... 168Between God and Human Being: The Path of Revelation ........................... 170The Revealer: Divine Love ........................................................................... 171The Recipient of Revelation: Human Humility ........................................ 174Revelation as Cornerstone of Reality ......................................................... 177Rosenzweig Versus Hegel: Revelation Versus Dialectical Logic ............. 178Rosenzweig Versus Nietzsche: Revelation Versus Disconnection ......... 182A Keyword for Revelation: 'Event' .............................................................. 184Between Human Being and World: The Path of Redemption ..................... 186The Agent of Redemption: Human Neighbor-Love ................................. 188The Context of Redemption: Worldly Life ................................................ 191Redemption: Communality and Eternity .................................................. 194Rosenzweig Versus Hegel: Redemptive Praxis VersusSelf-Reflection and Theory ................................................................ 196Rosenzweig Versus Nietzsche: Redemptive Praxis VersusGift-Giving Virtue .............................................................................. 201A Keyword for Redemption: 'Oriented Praxis' ......................................... 203Beyond Philosophy: The 'New Thinking' as Jewish .......................... 207Creation: Relational Otherness - Bereshit 1 .................................................. 212Revelation: Event - Shir ha-Shirim ................................................................. 215Redemption: Oriented Praxis - Psalm 115 and Tiqqun ............................... 217Final Remarks .................................................................................................... 221A Third Way between Idealism and Irrationalism ........................................ 221A Third Way between Philosophy and Jewish Thought ............................... 227'Otherness' in Philosophy and in Jewish Thought .................................... 228'Event' in Philosophy and in Jewish Thought ........................................... 230 Praxis' in Philosophy and in Jewish Thought ........................................... 232Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 236Bibliography ....................................................................................................... 239 Cover Copyright information Dedication Contents Introduction Three Spheres. Three Epochs. Three Ways Antiquity Middle Ages Modernity Reduction Three Ways The First Way: Hegel Two Attitudes of Thought Hegel’s Attitude of Thought The Three Spheres in Hegel’s Philosophy The Divine The Natural-Worldly The Human Hegel and Rosenzweig The Second Way: Nietzsche Nietzsche’s Irrationalism for Rosenzweig Against Values and Hierarchies Nietzsche and Hegel The Three Spheres in Nietzsche’s Philosophy The Divine The Natural-Worldly The Human Nietzsche and Rosenzweig The Third Way: Rosenzweig Rosenzweig Versus Idealism I: Elements Beyond the Human65 Beyond the Natural-Worldly Beyond the Divine Rosenzweig Versus Idealism II: Nothingness and Irrationality Nothingness Irrationality Rosenzweig Versus Irrationalism Trendelenburg Kierkegaard Nietzsche Truth as Relation Ex Negativo Ex Positivo Theory and Praxis The Three Spheres in Rosenzweig’s ‘New Thinking’ The Divine The Natural-Worldly The Human Between and Beyond Hegel and Nietzsche The Three Paths in Rosenzweig’s ‘New Thinking’ Explicit References and Implicit Analogies ‘Quod sit’ and ‘Quid sit’ in Der Stern der Erlösung Between God and World: The Path of Creation The Creator: Divine Power The Creature: Worldly Existence Rosenzweig Versus Hegel: Creation Versus Production Rosenzweig Versus Nietzsche: Creation Versus Eternal Return A Keyword for Creation: ‘Relational Otherness’ Between God and Human Being: The Path of Revelation The Revealer: Divine Love The Recipient of Revelation: Human Humility Revelation as Cornerstone of Reality Rosenzweig Versus Hegel: Revelation Versus Dialectical Logic Rosenzweig Versus Nietzsche: Revelation Versus Disconnection A Keyword for Revelation: ‘Event’ Between Human Being and World: The Path of Redemption The Agent of Redemption: Human Neighbor-Love The Context of Redemption: Worldly Life Redemption: Communality and Eternity Rosenzweig Versus Hegel: Redemptive Praxis Versus Self-Reflection and Theory Rosenzweig Versus Nietzsche: Redemptive Praxis Versus Gift-Giving Virtue A Keyword for Redemption: ‘Oriented Praxis’ Beyond Philosophy: The ‘New Thinking’ as Jewish Creation: Relational Otherness – Bereshit 1 Revelation: Event – Shir ha-Shirim Redemption: Oriented Praxis – Psalm 115 and Tiqqun Final Remarks A Third Way between Idealism and Irrationalism A Third Way between Philosophy and Jewish Thought ‘Otherness’ in Philosophy and in Jewish Thought ‘Event’ in Philosophy and in Jewish Thought ‘Praxis’ in Philosophy and in Jewish Thought Conclusion Bibliography

In his essay Das neue Denken (1925), Franz Rosenzweig warns against the "danger of understanding the new thinking in the sense, or rather the nonsense, of ‘irrational’ tendencies such as, for example, the ‘philosophy of life.’ Everyone clever enough to have steered clear of the jaws of the idealistic Charybdis seems nowadays to be drawn into the dark whirlpool of this Scylla".

The Homeric metaphor of Scylla and Charybdis provides the general guidelines Rosenzweig seems to stick to in developing his ‘new thinking.’ Not only does it avoid the dangers of idealism and irrationalism charting a third way between them, but it also takes shape as a combination of philosophy and Jewish thought — a combination irreducible to each of its terms, and thus representing a tertium datur beyond them.