Tertium Datur

Beniamino Fortis holds a PhD in Philosophy. He studied in Venice, Florence, and Berlin. His research interests are in picture theory, aesthetics, and contemporary Jewish thought.As a postdoctoral fellow he is currently leading a research group on the topic "Bilderverbot and art theory".

• Introduction ......................................................................................................... 11Three Spheres. Three Epochs. Three Ways .............................................. 17Antiquity ............................................................................................................... 18Middle Ages ......................................................................................................... 19Modernity ............................................................................................................. 20Reduction ............................................................................................................. 22Three Ways ........................................................................................................... 25The First Way: Hegel ......................................................................................... 29Two Attitudes of Thought .................................................................................. 30Hegel’s Attitude of Thought ................................................................................ 33The Three Spheres in Hegel’s Philosophy ......................................................... 35The Divine ....................................................................................................... 36The Natural-Worldly ...................................................................................... 38The Human ...................................................................................................... 39Hegel and Rosenzweig ........................................................................................ 41The Second Way: Nietzsche ........................................................................... 47Nietzsche’s Irrationalism for Rosenzweig ......................................................... 49Against Values and Hierarchies ......................................................................... 50Nietzsche and Hegel ............................................................................................ 54The Three Spheres in Nietzsche’s Philosophy .................................................. 57The Divine ....................................................................................................... 58The Natural-Worldly ...................................................................................... 60The Human ...................................................................................................... 61Nietzsche and Rosenzweig ................................................................................. 62The Third Way: Rosenzweig .......................................................................... 69Rosenzweig Versus Idealism I: Elements ......................................................... 70Beyond the Human ........................................................................................ 71Beyond the Natural-Worldly ......................................................................... 74Beyond the Divine .......................................................................................... 75Rosenzweig Versus Idealism II: Nothingness and Irrationality .................... 77Nothingness ..................................................................................................... 78Irrationality ...................................................................................................... 81Rosenzweig Versus Irrationalism ...................................................................... 83Trendelenburg ................................................................................................. 84Kierkegaard ..................................................................................................... 87Nietzsche .......................................................................................................... 90Truth as Relation ................................................................................................. 92Ex Negativo ..................................................................................................... 93Ex Positivo ....................................................................................................... 95Theory and Praxis .............................................................................................. 100The Three Spheres in Rosenzweig’s ‘New Thinking’ ......................... 103The Divine .......................................................................................................... 104The Natural-Worldly ......................................................................................... 110The Human ......................................................................................................... 117Between and Beyond Hegel and Nietzsche .................................................... 135The Three Paths in Rosenzweig’s ‘New Thinking’ .............................. 139Explicit References and Implicit Analogies ................................................... 141‘Quod sit’ and ‘Quid sit’ in Der Stern der Erlosung ....................................... 149Between God and World: The Path of Creation ............................................ 154The Creator: Divine Power .......................................................................... 155The Creature: Worldly Existence ................................................................ 158Rosenzweig Versus Hegel: Creation Versus Production ......................... 161Rosenzweig Versus Nietzsche: Creation Versus Eternal Return ............ 165A Keyword for Creation: ‘Relational Otherness’ ...................................... 168Between God and Human Being: The Path of Revelation ........................... 170The Revealer: Divine Love ........................................................................... 171The Recipient of Revelation: Human Humility ........................................ 174Revelation as Cornerstone of Reality ......................................................... 177Rosenzweig Versus Hegel: Revelation Versus Dialectical Logic ............. 178Rosenzweig Versus Nietzsche: Revelation Versus Disconnection ......... 182A Keyword for Revelation: ‘Event’ .............................................................. 184Between Human Being and World: The Path of Redemption ..................... 186The Agent of Redemption: Human Neighbor-Love ................................. 188The Context of Redemption: Worldly Life ................................................ 191Redemption: Communality and Eternity .................................................. 194Rosenzweig Versus Hegel: Redemptive Praxis VersusSelf-Reflection and Theory ................................................................ 196Rosenzweig Versus Nietzsche: Redemptive Praxis VersusGift-Giving Virtue .............................................................................. 201A Keyword for Redemption: ‘Oriented Praxis’ ......................................... 203Beyond Philosophy: The ‘New Thinking’ as Jewish .......................... 207Creation: Relational Otherness – Bereshit 1 .................................................. 212Revelation: Event – Shir ha-Shirim ................................................................. 215Redemption: Oriented Praxis – Psalm 115 and Tiqqun ............................... 217Final Remarks .................................................................................................... 221A Third Way between Idealism and Irrationalism ........................................ 221A Third Way between Philosophy and Jewish Thought ............................... 227‘Otherness’ in Philosophy and in Jewish Thought .................................... 228‘Event’ in Philosophy and in Jewish Thought ........................................... 230 Praxis’ in Philosophy and in Jewish Thought ........................................... 232Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 236Bibliography ....................................................................................................... 239