Dark Riddle

Hegel, Nietzsche, and the Jews

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by Yirmiyahu Yovel

Penn State University Press

Due/Published June 1998, 235 pages, paper

ISBN 0271017945

A unique analysis of the conflicting views toward Judaism reflected in the work of German philosophers Hegel and Nietzsche. Through his masterly analysis of the writings of both men, Yirmiyahu Yovel shows that anti-Jewish prejudice can exist alongside a philosophy of reason, while a philosophy of power must not necessarily be anti-Semitic.

Review

When it came to the "Jewish question" Hegel the great constructor of systems wavered, and the anti-enlightenment Nietzsche had a very systematic view. This is the rather curious case that noted professor Yovel examines in this absorbing and often surprising study of how the two philosophers' understanding of both historical Judaism and its role in the modern world. Perhaps the most challenging of Yovel's argument is his convincing reassessment of Nietzsche's view. Though often criticized for his views on Judaism, Nietzsche was, according to Yovel, a fierce opponent of anti-Semitism. He viewed Judaism as divided into three historical phases, Biblical, the diaspora period, and the middle phase of "priestly" Judaism that shaped Christianity. Being a fierce anti-Christian Nietzsche objected to the middle phase but he viewed the diaspora as a great human experience, one that gave the Jews historical depth and an existential power. It was these qualities that Nietzsche wanted to infuse into a modern Europe that he viewed as decadent and degenerative (not in small part because of its anti-semitism. Nietzsche's anti-anti-semitism ultimately ended his relationship with his good friend composer, Richard Wagner and his own sister). While Nietzsche gave an important role to the Jews in the modern world, Hegel's dialectical understanding of history saw modern Judaism as a dead existence. Not denying Judaism's importance as the primary influence of Christianity, Hegel saw Judaism as no longer having a function in the development of western civilization. Yovel's expert study also examines the philosophers' upbringings (Hegel was brought up in a strict Lutheran household) and their own historical times (1870's Germany saw the development of a more political and social form of anti-semitism, not simply a religious objection) in light of their views on Judaism. Equally important, Yovel also discusses how Hegel's and Nietzsche's views on Judaism related to their larger philosophical thought.