Moses Mendelssohn and the Enlightenment

By Arkush, Allan
State University of New York Press, 1994, Paperback, 304 pp., ISBN: 0791420728, $25.00

Mendelssohn, the author of numerous works on natural theology and ethics, was the first modern philosopher of Judaism.

Arkush (Judaic studies, State U. of New York at Binghamton) discusses the relationship between Mendelssohn's philosophical rationalism and his Judaism, and places his thought within the context of the Leibnizian- Wolffian school, the writings of Kant, and within the tradition of Jewish rationalism.

Arkush questions the extent to which Mendelssohn succeeded in reconciling the philosophy of the Enlightenment with his adherence to Judaism. Book News, Inc.