Accounting for modern Jewish identity: Hermann Cohen and the ethics of self-responsibilit

In this thesis, I argue that German-Jewish philosopher Hermann Cohen (1842-1918) constructed a transcendental argument for modern Jewish identity, and disseminated it in lectures and essays which have been collected as his Judische Schriften (3 vols., Schwetschke & Sohn, 1924). Furthermore, I contend that this kind of argument should be retrieved for Jewish thought today, though a plausible version of it will depart from Cohen's specific version in many of its details. Finally, on my understanding of contemporary Jewish life and thought, the most useful current argument about identity of the kind prosecuted by Cohen now emanates from the work of political philosopher Charles Taylor.$sp*$.;This dissertation aims to make three principle contributions to the scholarly literature on Hermann Cohen, and Jewish identity generally: (1) First, this study exposes a sustained argument about "modern Jewish identity" in Cohen's Jewish writings which has not previously been examined in English, Hebrew or German scholarship. (2) Second, this study articulates Cohen's understanding of normative Judaism as a "prophetic Judaism" in the philosophical and Hebrew Biblical tradition. In doing so, my thesis corrects for misunderstanding of Cohen currently extent in the scholarly literature. (3) Third, this study places Cohen's approach concerning Jewish identity in the context of Cohen's general transcendental philosophical method. Contemporary European scholarship has illuminated Cohen's transcendental method, but scant attention has been paid anywhere to the role that this method has played in Cohen's Jewish writings. (4) Fourth, this study brings Cohen's reflection on Jewish identity into contact with the broad contemporary conversation about identity which is now taking place in North America (e.g. Charles Taylor, Alasdair MacIntyre). This context is largely absent from the secondary literature on Cohen's Jewish thought. This kind of cross-fertilization will redound to the benefit of Cohen scholarship and Jewish thought about identity in general. Indeed, it forces scholars to raise the normative question of the value of Cohen's argument, and challenges them to develop his thought in a fashion which can meet the most rigorous and insightful contemporary challenges from whatever quarter. ftn$sp*$A transcendental argument identifies the conditions for the possibility of a given phenomenon, and was pioneered by the philosopher Immanuel Kant.