ML: Christian Knorr von Rosenroth. Cabbala and Philosophy in 17th Century

FI2_W02 FI2_W10 FI2_W11 FI2_U03 FI2_U06 FI2_U07 FI2_U08 FI2_U13 FI2_K08

The aim of the course is to show the reason and scope of Cabbala’s influence on the seventeenth century philosophy primarily in England. Platonic and Jewish thought contributed to shaping some intellectual developments of that time

The Cabbala is the commonly used term for the mystical teachings of Judaism, especially for those originating after the twelfth century. The word itself means "that which is received" or "tradition," and it was generally believed that the Cabbala had passed orally from one generation to the next until the time of Esdras when it was finally written down. The Cabbala's reputed divine origin led many Jews as well as Christians to view it as the purest source of divine wisdom. The pursue for that wisdom was very much alive in the XVIIth Century in England. The lecture will focus on the influence some Cabbalistic ideas had on philosophy and theology of that time. Primarily there will be analyzed a connection between these ideas and the Cambridge Platonist’s Henry More attempt to defend religion against the threat of atheism. Christian Knorr von Rosenroth, the author of Kabbala denudata, played an important role in that project.

1. S. Brown, Leibniz and More’s Cabblistic Circle in: Henry More (1614-1687) Tercentenary Studies (ed. S. Hutton), Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht Boston London 1990, pp. 77-96.

2. A. Coudert, Henry More, the Kabbalah, and the Quackers in: Philosophy, Science and Religion in England 1640-1700 (ed. R. Kroll, R. Ashcraft, P. Zagorin), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1992, s. 31-67.

3. A. Funkenstein, A Theology and the Scientific Imagination from the Middle Ages to the Seventeenth Century, Princeton University Press, Princeton 1986, pp. 72-80.

4. S. Hutton, More, Millenarianism, and the Ma'aseh Merkavah in: Everything connects (Ed. R. Popkin, J. Force), Brill, Leiden Boston Köln 1999, pp. 163-182.

Knowledge: Student knows and understands, in an extended way, the place and meaning of philosophy in relation to other sciences as well as subject and methodological specificity of philosophy; knows and understands the advanced terminology of the chosen philosophical subdiscipline in a selected foreign language; student knows and understands comprehensively and thoroughly the views of the chosen leading philosophical authors and the current state of research in selected philosophical issues

Skills: can creatively use philosophical and methodological knowledge in formulating hypotheses and constructing critical arguments; can determine the degree of relevance of theses for the problem or argument being investigated; can detect complex relationships between shaping philosophical ideas and social and cultural processes and define the relationship between these relationships; can identify typical argumentative strategies in oral and written statements; is able to translate a difficult philosophical text from a selected foreign language into Polish

Competences: is ready to constantly improve his language skills and use for this purpose sources available to him

Assessment criteria:

• Attending classes

• Taking part in the discussions

• Submitting one essay on a chosen topic concerning the Cabbala's influence on the modern philosophy (6-8 pages)