Modern Jewish philosophy emerged in the seventeenth century, with the impact of the new science and modern philosophy on thinkers who were reflecting upon the nature of Judaism and Jewish life. This collection of new essays examines the work of several of the most important of these figures, from the seventeenth to the late-twentieth centuries, and addresses themes central to the tradition of modern Jewish philosophy: language and revelation, autonomy and authority, the problem of evil, messianism, the influence of Kant, and feminism. Included are essays on Spinoza, Mendelssohn, Cohen, Buber, Rosenzweig, Fackenheim, Soloveitchik, Strauss, and Levinas. Other thinkers discussed include Maimon, Benjamin, Derrida, Scholem, and Arendt. The sixteen original essays are written by a world-renowned group of scholars especially for this volume and give a broad and rich picture of the tradition of modern Jewish philosophy over a period of four centuries.

1. Introduction: modern Jewish philosophy, modern philosophy, and modern Judaism Michael L. Morgan and Peter Eli Gordon; 2. Baruch Spinoza and the naturalization of Judaism Steven Nadler; 3. The liberalism of Moses Mendelssohn Allan Arkush; 4. Jewish philosophy after Kant: the legacy of Salomon Maimon Paul W. Franks; 5. Hermann Cohen: Judaism and critical idealism Andrea Poma; 6. Self, other, text, God: the dialogical thought of Martin Buber Tamara Wright; 7. Franz Rosenzweig and the philosophy of Jewish existence Peter Eli Gordon; 8. Leo Strauss and modern Jewish thought Steven B. Smith; 9. Messianism and modern Jewish philosophy Pierre Bouretz; 10. Ethics, authority, and autonomy Kenneth Seeskin; 11. Joseph Soloveitchik and Halakhic man Lawrence Kaplan; 12. Emmanuel Levinas: Judaism and the primacy of the ethical Richard A. Cohen; 13. Emil Fackenheim, the Holocaust, and philosophy Michael L. Morgan; 14. Evil, suffering, and the Holocaust Berel Lang; 15. Revelation, language, and commentary: from Buber to Derrida Leora Batnitzky; 16. Feminism and modern Jewish philosophy Tamar Rudavsky.