| Isaac Breuer (1883-1946) was a leading thinker and political activist in the world of Orthodox German Jewry. Breuer was a proponent of his grandfather, Samson Raphael Hirsch's, tradition of secular learning combined with loyalty to the separatist Orthodox community. In this dissertation, Breuer's philosophical works are systematically analyzed against the background of the Hirsch intellectual and communal tradition. The dissertation explores a fertile period in Jewish philosophy and contrasts Breuer's thought with Franz Rosenzweig's and others'.;Breuer builds on Hirsch's notion that Jewish man is the highest type of man per se. In an ironic variant of the Christian model of promise and fulfillment, humanity finds its redemption in Judaism. For Breuer, non-Jewish humanity is in a state of ontological tragedy and historical chaos. Drawing on Kant, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche and others, Breuer develops an epistemology, metaphysics and theories of law, society and history to account for this fundamental tragedy. In contrast with the tragic wisdom derivative of the general human situation, Breuer develops a philosophy of Judaism. In addition to German philosophy, he draws on elements of the Jewish mystical tradition to highlight the supernatural, and therefore non-tragic, character of Judaism. After a systematic analysis of Breuer's major theses, a critique follows in the conclusion. |
