Athens in Jerusalem. On the Definition of Jewish Philosophy

Abstract

The question what Jewish philosophy is and why this field is important for the academic study of philosophy has often been a subject of debate. The academic study of Jewish philosophy started in the middle of the nineteenth century with the pioneering work of Manuel Joël and Salomon Munk. It was the early period of die Wissenschaft des Judentums. Since these early years in the academic study of Jewish philosophers, scholars have debated on what is Jewish and what is philosophical in Jewish philosophy. This discussion focuses on questions like: is Jewish philosophy a philosophy of Judaism, is it a specifically Jewish contribution to the debate on philosophical problems, is it a part of philosophy of religion or is it broader, is it philosophizing by Jews, is there really such a thing as Jewish philosophy, is the term not an internal contradiction?