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2. A Critique of Human Experience
- State University of New York Press
- Chapter
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A CRITIQUE OF HUMAN EXPERIENCE BEYOND THE "RELIGION OF REASON" One could begin the study of Breuer's philosophy with an investigation of either his epistemology or his philosophy of history. Both were fundamental disciplines for him, each revealing much about the underlying tragedy of human existence. Epistemology provides a critique of existence in its individuated dimension, while philosophy of history critiques collective existence. Both inquiries reveal that humanity is divided against itself and against its Creator. This study begins with epistemology because Breuer gave such discussion considerable weight in his overall system. Breuer's penchant for epistemology is one of the distinguishing characteristics of his work. Although he was not alone among Orthodox Jewish thinkers in attempting to ground his thought in an epistemology (Rav Kook did so in an early work), he is unique in the 25 +) 2 A CRITIQUE OF HUMAN EXPERIENCE BEYOND THE "RELIGION OF REASON" One could begin the study of Breuer's philosophy with an investigation of either his epistemology or his philosophy of history. Both were fundamental disciplines for him, each revealing much about the underlying tragedy of human existence. Epistemology provides a critique of existence in its individuated dimension, while philosophy of history critiques collective existence. Both inquiries reveal that humanity is divided against itself and against its Creator. This study begins with epistemology because Breuer gave such discussion considerable weight in his overall system. Breuer's penchant for epistemology is one of the distinguishing characteristics of his work. Although he was not alone among Orthodox Jewish thinkers in attempting to ground his thought in an epistemology (Rav Kook did so in an early workl, he is unique in the 25 26 FROM KANT TO KABBALAH intensity, rigor, and sophistication with which he pursued his task. I In Die Welt als Sch6pfung und Natur, Der Neue Kusari, and another major German work, Elischa (Elisha, 1928), Breuer proposed a complex thesis on the nature of human perception, knowledge , and will. The thesis is reiterated in his Hebrew works, Moriah and Nabaliel.2 The attempt to anchor his philosophy of Judaism in a multifaceted epistemology is evident in all phases of his creativity. Consequently, an understanding of his epistemology -and of his reasons for doing epistemology-is necessary for any comprehensive grasp of his thought. Before exploring his basic thesis, we must inquire into his reasons for venturing into the terrain of epistemological theory (Erkenntnistheoriel in the first place. His reasons for placing so much emphasis on this branch of philosophy tell us much about his results. In one of his earliest studies, Lehre, Gesetz und Nation, (19101, Breuer makes a general remark about Lehre (doctrine, or philosophical-theological discourse in generall.3 Why should Orthodox Jews bother about such discourse, he asks. Would it not be sufficient to speak only about the Law (Gesetzl? Breuer fears that the attempt to define a Jewish Lehre, to isolate an "essence of Judaism ," sounds suspiciously like the preoccupation of liberal theologians . He answers, in effect, that modernity gives the Orthodox Jew no choice. In the bitter spiritual conflict of the last century, for example, the great teachers of the era were forced to speak the language of Lehre in order to defend the integrity of the Law. Straying into the risky hinterland of philosophical-theological discourse is not a concession to religious liberalism; rather, it is a form of polemical counterattack. It is significant that Breuer should have begun his first theological essay with such a disclaimer. Perhaps he simply meant to raise an initial caution against the easy identification of his essay with the liberal "Essence of Judaism" literature, represented most enduringly by Leo Baeck's volume of the same name. In that genre, philosophy was used to sift a conceptual essence of pure Judaism from the presumably impure accretions and forms that the religion acquired in the course of Jewish history. Breuer's caveat, however, represents more than a minatory remark. It reveals a deep ambivalence about the practice of philosophy and a defense of his own engagement in it. 26 FROM KANT TO KABBALAH intensity, rigor, and sophistication with which he pursued his task. l In Die Welt als Sch6pfung und Natur, Der Neue Kusari, and another major German work, Elischa (Elisha, 1928), Breuer proposed a complex thesis on the nature of human perception, knowledge , and will. The thesis is reiterated in his Hebrew works, Moriah and Nabalie1. 2 The attempt to anchor his philosophy of Judaism in a multifaceted epistemology is evident...