Mendelssohn’s Concept of Natural Religion Re-Examined
The essay explores Moses Mendelssohn’s concept of natural religion by contrasting it with the way it was understood by his contemporaries. An examination of key aspects—the role of pagans, knowledge transfer, the possible redundancy of revealed religion, and Judaism’s attitude toward “unphilosophica...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Brill
2017
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| In: |
The journal of Jewish thought & philosophy
Year: 2017, Volume: 25, Issue: 2, Pages: 209-231 |
| Further subjects: | B
Enlightenment
Mendelssohn
natural religion
paganism
Reason
universal religion
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| Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) |
| Summary: | The essay explores Moses Mendelssohn’s concept of natural religion by contrasting it with the way it was understood by his contemporaries. An examination of key aspects—the role of pagans, knowledge transfer, the possible redundancy of revealed religion, and Judaism’s attitude toward “unphilosophical” knowledge—suggests that Mendelssohn’s view was not only shaped through direct and indirect reactions to his intellectual surrounding, but also that it employed Christian arguments in order to construct an unapologetic image of Judaism as a universal religion. This view challenged the designation of Christianity as a philosophical religion, and, by extension, the Christian understanding of the Enlightenment Project. |
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| ISSN: | 1477-285X |
| Contains: | In: The journal of Jewish thought & philosophy
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/1477285X-12341285 |