Franz Rosenzweig

scorta della nozione di rivelazione, è vista non come concetto razionale
universale e atemporale, ma come relazione evemenenziale che si dà nel
linguaggio. La rivelazione, intesa come miracolo di amore e che ha la sua
profezia nella filosofia, si propone come il ponte tra l’estremamente oggettivo
e l’estremamente soggettivo.
– Antonios Kalatzis, Bridging without Bridges. Rosenzweig on
Philosophy and Theology
Rosenzweig scholarship has for good reasons put its main focus on his
conception of “New Thinking”, to wit on Rosenzweig’s new understanding
of Philosophy. Along with this new conception however, Rosenzweig
introduced a new understanding of Theology, that is intrinsically connected
to his conception of Philosophy. In other words, Rosenzweig conception
of Philosophy does not only lead to Theology, but Theology refers back
to Philosophy as well. Hence neither is Philosophy perceived as ancilla
theologiaenor is Theology a less adequate articulation of what solely
Philosophy is able to grasp (Hegel). The paper aims to shed light to this yet
not sufficiently examined, but equally important aspect of Rosenzweig’s
work, and show that both, Philosophy and Theology, are equally important
for his project. In concrete the paper will examine the exact meaning and
function of “and” in Rosenzweig’s Philosophy and consequently investigate
how this relates to the concrete relation between Philosophy and Theology.
Rosenzweig understands Philosophy and Theology as intrinsically connected,
but still not mutually reducible activities or languages. As Rosenzweig writes
in his article “Atheistic Theology”, that God (Theology) and Man (Philosophy/
Rationality) ought to be thought inseparably does not mean that the
Theological and Philosophical perspective are identical. Is it possible to claim,
as Rosenzweig does, the mutual independence of Philosophy and Theology,
while at the same time suggesting the necessity of their mutual reference?
And if yes, what is the specific nature of this conjunction?
– Silvia Richter, Faith and reason: on the interaction of theology and
philosophy in the thought of Franz Rosenzweig
In my contribution I would like to examine the interaction between faith and
reason in the work of Franz Rosenzweig. As is well-known, in The Star of
Redemption Rosenzweig constantly uses citations from the Bible to illustrate
key concepts of his thought, like revelation or creation. The whole discourse
of the Star is, in some sense, interwoven by a theological “sub-text” that
evolves along with Rosenzweig’s philosophical reflections and cannot be seen
separated from it. Thus, philosophy and theology are deeply connected to one
another in Rosenzweig’s thought; this connection will be shown by examples
from the Star. In a second step, I outline the deeper implications which arise
by this connection: by analyzing Rosenzweig’s concept of a philosophical new
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