An Introduction to Modern Jewish Thinkers: From Spinoza to Soloveitchik

by Alan T. Levenson

Highlighting well-known Jewish thinkers from a very wide spectrum of opinion, the author addresses a range of issues, including: What makes a thinker Jewish? What makes modern Jewish thought modern? How have secular Jews integrated Jewish traditional thought with agnosticism? What do Orthodox thinkers have to teach non-Orthodox Jews and vice versa? Each chapter includes a short, judiciously chosen selection from the given author, along with questions to guide the reader through the material. Short biographical essays at the end of each chapter offer the reader recommendations for further readings and provide the low-down on which books are worth the reader's while. Introduction to Modern Jewish Thinkers represents a decade of the author's experience teaching students ranging from undergraduate age to their seventies. This is an ideal textbook for undergraduate classes.

Genres: Judaism, Jewish, Philosophy

252 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid introduction - lots of amazing writers with fantastic excerpts and short bios. Absolutely fascinated by Heschel and Kaplan. I believe the author could have done better for others. I wish the author did include some other prominent thinkers, especially a section on modern female Jewish thought, but the author does address the issue in the conclusion. Other than a few confusing excerpt choices and me wondering why some writers were not included, this is crucial to anyone who needs a book on basic and supplementary introductions to modern Jewish thought.

[Heather Schwartz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Accessible introduction to a wide variety of thinkers. You are bound to find someone if not many in here that you will want to read more about.