After Enlightenment

John R. Betz is Associate Professor of Systematic and Philosophical Theology at the University of Notre Dame, having previously taught theology at Loyola University Maryland. He has published several articles on Hamann, including Hamann's London Writings and on his significance to Kierkegaard.

"This is a scholar's book, breaking new ground in the study of eighteenth-century philosophy, and those responsible for teaching modern philosophy and theology should be warned: on picking up this book, you risk having to revise substantial portions of your lectures. This is the sort of book that ought to change the way we think about Europe's so-called Enlightenment, and the intellectual paths that we have walked ever since." (Anglican Theological Review, 2012) "Simply put, Betz’s accomplishment is superb. He comprehensively introduces the entire span of Hamann’s work in its theological and philosophical significance … though much remains to be done in thinking with Hamann, Betz’s work is a major accomplishment that deserves wide readership.” —Lutheran Quarterly“This is an important book for at least two reasons. On the one hand, it is a complete, reliable, and agreeably written introduction to Johann Georg Hamann’s life, work and world. On the other hand, it contributes substantially to the ongoing discussion in contemporary theology and philosophy about the seemingly ineradicable tension between modernity and Christianity.” —Modern Theology“After Enlightenment has much to offer those who are familiar with Hamann, as well as those who are not. The way Betz handles Hamann’s difficult writings and communicates his thought is a clear and precise manner is praiseworthy … The comprehensiveness of the study is enhanced by the ease of Betz’s prose, offering a tremendous tool for understanding the enigmatic yet fruitful ‘Magus of the North’.” —Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society“[Betz] has produced the best and fullest survey of the life and writings of Johann Georg Hamann in a generation, helpfully including many passages from Hamann’s letters and publications and commenting intelligently on the style, theology, philosophy, and (to a lesser extent) historical context of Hamann’s notoriously obscure oeuvre; second, he has written an intellectual history covering Hamann’s relation to the major figures of his time as well as his subsequent influence on and reception by philosophers and theologians down to our own day.” —Church History

• Preface xiAcknowledgments xivAbbreviations xviIntroduction 1Notorious Darkness: Reading Sibylline Leaves 8A Brief History of Scholarship 13Hamann and Modern Theology 18Overview 19Part I The Making of a Christian Socrates 231 Life and Writings 1730–1788 25The Making of a Philologist 26Hamann’s Conversion 29Hamann’s Falling Out with Berens 32Hamann’s Relationship with Kant 342 The London Writings: On the Glory of Trinitarian Condescension 38Night Thoughts: On the Interpretation of Scripture 39Glory in the “Rags” of Scripture 43Biblical Meditations 45“Reflections on church hymns” 53“Fragments” and “Prophecies” 553 A Typological Re-reading of Socrates: On Faith, Reason, and History 63The Prophet and the Idol 65From Socratic Irony to Christian Humor 68Toward a Philosophy of History 71A Propaedeutic to Real Enlightenment 76Converting Hume: Knowledge “By Faith Alone” 82Kant, Hamann, and the So-called “Kinderphysik Fiasco” 84Part II Crusades of the Philologist 894 Life and Writings 1760–1774 91Against the Purification of Language 91The Magi and “The Knight of Faith” 93Crusades of the Philologist 96On “Solomon of Prussia” and High School Drama 103The Hamann–Herder Connection 104A Satirical Masterpiece and Other Writings 1095 Toward a Christological Poetics: A New Aesthetics of Scripture and Creation 113Cloverleaf of Hellenistic Letters: On the Style of Scripture 117Aesthetica in nuce: On the Language of Creation 123The Dithyrambs of a Christian Dionysus 128Seeing All Things in Christ 133Toward a Christological Poetics 1366 Correcting a Disciple: Hamann and Herder on the Origin of Language 141Hamann’s Review of Herder’s Preisschrift 144The Return of Aristobulus 147Philological Ideas and Doubts 149The Crusading Knight’s Last Will and Testament 158The Mystery of Language: The Alpha and Omega 163Part III Masks and Mystery Writings 1657 Life and Writings 1775–1780 167Hierophantic Letters 167Family Life: Portrait of a Christian Sensualist 170Two Mites: On the Tabernacle of Language 1738 The Sibyl Speaks: On the Protological and Eschatological Mystery of Marriage 178The Mystery of Marriage: A verum signaculum Creatoris 179Essay of a Sibyl on Marriage 182“Aprons of fig leaves”: On Reason’s Inveterate Shame 1849 Fragments of an Apocryphal Sibyl: On Rational and Apocalyptic Religion 189Doubts (about Reason) and Ideas (about the Mystical Body of Christ) 191Konxompax: An Apocryphal Letter to Lessing 197Part IV Metacritique: of Reason, Natural Religion, and Secular Politics 21710 Life and Writings 1780–1784 219Hamann’s “Twins” of 1784 220Hamann and Jacobi 222Divestment and Transfiguration 222“Metacritical tubs”? 22811 Hamann’s Metacritique of Kant: Deconstructing the Transcendental Dream 230Transcendental “Mystique”: The First Review of the Critique of Pure Reason 234The Metacritique: A Brief History of the Purisms of Reason 242The “Genealogical Priority” of Language 248Language as a Sacrament 25312 Metacritical Politics: On Mendelssohn’s Jerusalem and the Modern Secular State 258A Synopsis of Mendelssohn’s Jerusalem 262Golgotha and Scheblimini: By a Preacher in the Desert 270Built upon Sand: The Babel of Modern Natural Rights 273Defending Judaism against Secular Reason, or the Real Content of the Real Jerusalem 280Prospect for Jewish–Christian Dialogue 290Part V A Final Journey: Hamann’s Last Will and Testament 29113 Life and Writings 1785–1788 293The Münster Circle 294The “Dictators of Pure Reason” 296Portrait of a Christian: Greatness in Knechtsgestalt 297Una Sancta Ecclesia 300A Cryptic Final Testament 301The Journey Home 308Conclusion. After Postmodernity: Hamann before the Postmodern Triumvirate 312Hamann and Postmodernity 313Hamann before Nietzsche 319Hamann before Heidegger 326Hamann before Derrida 331A Concluding Postscript to Postmodernity 337Biblical Index 341Index 343