E-Book Overview
Abraham Heschel believed that the Holocaust was an "Eclipse of Humanity." In its philosophical and historical context, Heschel saw this eclipse as embedded in the phenomenological approach of Heidegger. Focusing on their respective phenomenological methods, Heschel's view of Adam and Heidegger's notion of Dasein, this book is an analysis of Heschel's critique of Heidegger and the postmodernism that followers of Heidegger espoused.
E-Book Content
Lawrence Perlman The Eclipse of Humanity Studia Judaica Forschungen zur Wissenschaft des Judentums Begründet von Ernst Ludwig Ehrlich Herausgegeben von Günter Stemberger, Charlotte Fonrobert und Alexander Samely Band 91 Lawrence Perlman The Eclipse of Humanity Heschel’s Critique of Heidegger ISBN 978-3-11-044188-8 e-ISBN (PDF) 978-3-11-043544-3 e-ISBN (EPUB) 978-3-11-043418-7 ISSN 0585-5306 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A CIP catalog record for this book has been applied for at the Library of Congress. Bibliographic information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data are available on the Internet at http://dnb.dnb.de. © 2016 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston Printing and binding: CPI books GmbH, Leck ♾ Printing on acid free paper Printed in Germany www.degruyter.com In Memory of my Father Philip Perlman In Honor of my Mother Lynn Perlman In Memory of my In-Laws Myer and Bess Pollock Acknowledgments There are several people who deserve thanks for their support. My youngest daughter Hannah Perlman, a second-year law student who took time from her very busy schedule, was the first person to read the entire manuscript and made many grammatical and syntactical corrections. She was my first audience and helped me judge the cogency of the arguments. Professor Emeritus Michael Ermarth of Dartmouth College read part of the manuscript and graciously welcomed me to his home to discuss the issues. Paolo Gamberini, S.J., S.T.D., engaged in a dialogue with me in relation to some of the overarching philosophical methods and concerns of Heschel. My friend and colleague Rabbi Elliot Gertel read the entire manuscript and made many observations and suggestions. His attention to detail made the manuscript better in every way. Joyce Rappaport undertook the final editing and preparation of the manuscript for publication. Sophie Wagenhofer and everyone involved at De Gruyter have my gratitude. Most importantly I am grateful to my wife Barbara who has supported me in every way imaginable over the course of the four years it took to complete this book. Overview Acknowledgments Introduction VII 1 Are Philosophy and Religion Possible after Auschwitz and Hiroshima? 9 Amidst the Traditions First Phenomenology – in the Cobbler’s Workshop Dasein and Adam The Eclipse of Humanity Heschel and the Postmodernists: (Are the Demonic and Death Real?) 144 Bibliography Index of Names Subject Index 193 199 201 32 70 98 119 Introduction This work serves two purposes. In plain terms, this work is an analysis of Who Is Man? by Abraham Heschel. From a more complicated perspective it is an analysis of postmodernism as it bears upon certain philosophical and theological positions that are important in the discussion of religion, Judaism, and historical events. To accomplish this straightforward and more complex goal, many complicated issues need to be brought to bear on this slim volume to make it understandable in the context in which Who Is Man? was delivered. It has long been assumed that Heschel ignored the issue of the Holoc