Lecture: Joseph Cohen, 'Antijudaism and Antisemitism in European Philosophy'
Assoc. Prof. Joseph Cohen (UCD School of Philosophy) will present on 'Antijudaism and Antisemitism in European Philosophy' at Bard College, New York, hosted by the Jewish Studies Program, Human Rights Program, Hannah Arendt Center, and Philosophy Program on Monday 10 November at 6pm EST.
From Kant to Heidegger, many of Europe’s most influential philosophers have engaged—sometimes critically, sometimes prejudicially—with the figure of “the Jew” and the central ideas of Judaism. This seminar explores how concepts such as election, messianism, revelation, and the Law have been interpreted, and often distorted, in the philosophical tradition. We will examine the distinction between antijudaism (opposition to Jewish religion or thought) and antisemitism (hostility toward Jews as a people), while also tracing their deep historical and conceptual connections. Through close readings of key thinkers (including Kant, Hegel, Nietzsche, Marx, and Heidegger), we will see how these ideas were not mere products of prejudice, but at times formed a structural part of philosophical systems—casting “the Jew” as a necessary counterpoint to philosophy itself. We will ask: In what sense has the trope of the Jew as a “counter-essential enemy” to philosophical thinking been seen as necessary for the very unfolding of European philosophical history?
