Jewish philosophers and Jewish philosophy /

This stately yet compelling volume of essays spanning 47 years concentrates on the relation between philosophy and religion. It covers the work of Jewish thinkers from Maimonides to Samuel Hirsch to Leo Strauss and examines the idea of a Jewish philosophy, with a special section on philosophy in the heat and light of the Holocaust. Fackenheim (Encounters Between Judaism and Modern Philosophy, Aronson, 1994) usually does not give overviews of the thinkers but approaches each through an essential issue. When he gives more of an overview, he does not merely present the philosopher's thoughts but engages them. Among matters discussed here are the possibility of the universe, Hirsch and Hegel, Buber and the dialogical, and political philosophy and Israel. The volume never avoids the religious but maintains a philosophical stance; it does not eschew the abstract but is so penetrating that the abstract is made concrete, accessible, and existentially recognizable. With Fackenheim one has the sense of a humble master at the work he loves. Rarely does one encounter a scholarly work so rich. Recommended for academic libraries.‘Lee Horvitz, Miami Univ., Ohio (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.