Broadcasts on Jewish Philosophy at PHILOSOPHER'S ZONE.

Including the following programmes:

• Overview 1: We begin this series with an introduction to Jewish philosophy, from Ancient times onwards - an attempt to explore some of the key thinkers and recurring philosophical questions. Our guide is Tamar Rudavsky from Ohio State University (http://www.abc.net.au/rn/philosopherszone/stories/2011/3318686.htm);
• Overview 2: in part two of our introduction we take up the story during the 17th century, with the great European thinker Baruch Spinoza. Tamar Rudavsky from Ohio State University is again our guide (http://www.abc.net.au/rn/philosopherszone/stories/2011/3318715.htm);
• Maimonides: Rabbi Moshe Ben Maimon, also known as Maimonides, became a hugely important figure in that great era of Moorish cultural flourishing, 12th century Spain (Cordoba). Maimonides adapted the ideas of Aristotle, was a significant influence on Thomas Aquinas, and became one of the leading Rabbinical scholars of his time, and perhaps of all time (http://www.abc.net.au/rn/philosopherszone/stories/2011/3318761.htm);
• Moses Mendelssohn: Moses Mendelssohn scandalised his more pious fellow 18th century Germans when he said: 'My religion recognises no obligation to resolve doubt other than through rational means; and it commands no mere faith in eternal truths.' This week we look at the life and ideas of one of the great proponents of Judaism as a rational religion (http://www.abc.net.au/rn/philosopherszone/stories/2011/3318825.htm);
• Martin Buber: Martin Buber was born in pre-Nazi Austria and emigrated to Israel in 1938 where he spent much of the rest of his life. He grappled with Zionism, Jewish thought, secular philosophy and politics and the result is a body of thought very much based on relationships (http://www.abc.net.au/rn/philosopherszone/stories/2011/3318843.htm).

Scott, Sarah. "Martin Buber." INTERNET ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PHILOSOPHY June 21, 2010.

Martin Buber was a prominent twentieth century philosopher, religious thinker, political activist and educator. Born in Austria, he spent most of his life in Germany and Israel, writing in German and Hebrew. He is best known for his 1923 book, Ich und Du (I and Thou), which distinguishes between “I-Thou” and “I-It” modes of existence. Often characterized as an existentialist philosopher, Buber rejected the label, contrasting his emphasis on the whole person and intersubjectivity rather than self-reflective, isolating monolog. In his later essays, he defines man as the being who faces an “other” and constructs a world from the dual acts of distancing and relating. His writing challenges Kant, Hegel, Marx, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Dilthey, Simmel and Heidegger, and he influenced Emmanuel Lévinas.

Buber was also a cultural Zionist who advocated a binational state and promoted Jewish cultural renewal through his study of Hasidic Judaism. He was an important pre-World War 1 German voice of cultural Zionism. He argued for the renewal of society through decentralized, communitarian socialism. He recorded and translated Hasidic legends and anecdotes, translated the Bible from Hebrew into German in collaboration with Franz Rosenzweig, and wrote numerous religious and Biblical studies. The leading Jewish adult education specialist in Germany in the 1930s, he developed a philosophy of education based on addressing the whole person through education of character, and directed the creation of Jewish education centers in Germany and teacher-training centers in Israel.

Most current scholarly work on Buber is done in the areas of pedagogy, psychology and applied social ethics. . . .

Read the rest here: http://www.iep.utm.edu/buber/.