Emil Fackenheim's Quest: From Philosophy to Prophetic Theology

A detailed study of German-born Jewish philosopher Emil Fackenheim’s thought.

Philosopher McRobert (Appearances: Genetic Mythology and Cosmic Instincts, 2011, etc.) presents a thorough chronological analysis of Fackenheim’s writings. Fackenheim (1916–2003) was a Holocaust survivor, philosopher and rabbi. His work developed from his preoccupation with medieval philosophy and the works of philosophers Friedrich Schelling, Martin Buber and Franz Rosenzweig toward a search for existential foundations in the works of Georg Hegel and Søren Kierkegaard. Fackenheim’s study of Immanuel Kant’s works, McRobert writes, provided him with the means to pose theological issues philosophically. The author concludes that Fackenheim eventually went beyond philosophy and, in his major work, To Mend the World (1982), moved toward prophetic theology. She sets out to show how the philosopher’s early work prepared the way for this change by asserting that evil was an absolute and by providing “prophetic symbols” for his philosophy and theology. Fackenheim, McRobert explains, ended up seeing the Holocaust as an event of transcendent absolute evil that forever fragments meaning—one that must be kept alive in the witnesses’ minds in order not to give Hitler any posthumous victories. The philosopher also came to see Israel as a necessary “secular-religious truth” to resist evil. This book provides a serious examination of philosophical and theological issues and is meant for scholarly, not casual, readers; it’s best suited for graduate students in philosophy. Students of contemporary Jewish thought, particularly those interested in ethics and theology in the light of the Holocaust, will likely be drawn to this detailed study, and readers of Fackenheim’s work, in particular, may also find it a helpful guide.

A comprehensive inquiry into the central tenets of Fackenheim’s philosophy.