Description
Book SynopsisTo Hegel, he was a genius; to Kierkegaard, he was the greatest humorist in Christendom; to Goethe, he was the brightest mind of his day. Though less known than many of his contemporaries, A.G. Hamann is gradually being recognized as one of the most important and original critics of the Enlightenment.
Trade Review"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
Table of ContentsPreface xi
Acknowledgments xiv
Abbreviations xvi
Introduction 1
Notorious Darkness: Reading Sibylline Leaves 8
A Brief History of Scholarship 13
Hamann and Modern Theology 18
Aim and Overview 19
Part I The Making of a Christian Socrates 23
1 Life and Writings 1730–1788 25
The Making of a Philologist 26
Hamann's Conversion 29
Hamann's Falling Out with Berens 32
Hamann's Relationship with Kant 34
2 The London Writings: On the Glory of Trinitarian Condescension 38
Night Thoughts: On the Interpretation of Scripture 39
Glory in the "Rags" of Scripture 43
Biblical Meditations 45
"Reflections on church hymns" 53
"Fragments" and "Prophecies" 55
3 A Typological Re-reading of Socrates: On Faith, Reason, and History 63
The Prophet and the Idol 65
From Socratic Irony to Christian Humor 68
Toward a Philosophy of History 71
A Propaedeutic to Real Enlightenment 76
Converting Hume: Knowledge "By Faith Alone" 82
Kant, Hamann, and the So-called "Kinderphysik Fiasco" 84
Part II Crusades of the Philologist 89
4 Life and Writings 1760–1774 91
Against the Purification of Language 91
The Magi and "The Knight of Faith" 93
Crusades of the Philologist 96
On "Solomon of Prussia" and High School Drama 103
The Hamann–Herder Connection 104
A Satirical Masterpiece and Other Writings 109
5 Toward a Christological Poetics: A New Aesthetics of Scripture and Creation 113
Cloverleaf of Hellenistic Letters: On the Style of Scripture 117
Aesthetica in nuce: On the Language of Creation 123
The Dithyrambs of a Christian Dionysus 128
Seeing All Things in Christ 133
Toward a Christological Poetics 136
6 Correcting a Disciple: Hamann and Herder on the Origin of Language 141
Hamann's Review of Herder's Preisschrift 144
The Return of Aristobulus 147
Philological Ideas and Doubts 149
The Crusading Knight's Last Will and Testament 158
The Mystery of Language: The Alpha and Omega 163
Part III Masks and Mystery Writings 165
7 Life and Writings 1775–1780 167
Hierophantic Letters 167
Family Life: Portrait of a Christian Sensualist 170
Two Mites: On the Tabernacle of Language 173
8 The Sibyl Speaks: On the Protological and Eschatological Mystery of Marriage 178
The Mystery of Marriage: A verum signaculum Creatoris 179
Essay of a Sibyl on Marriage 182
"Aprons of fig leaves": On Reason’s Inveterate Shame 184
9 Fragments of an Apocryphal Sibyl: On Rational and Apocalyptic Religion 189
Doubts (about Reason) and Ideas (about the Mystical Body of Christ) 191
Konxompax: An Apocryphal Letter to Lessing 197
Part IV Metacritique: of Reason, Natural Religion, and Secular Politics 217
10 Life and Writings 1780–1784 219
Hamann's "Twins" of 1784 220
Hamann and Jacobi 222
Divestment and Transfiguration 222
"Metacritical tubs"? 228
11 Hamann’s Metacritique of Kant: Deconstructing the Transcendental Dream 230
Transcendental "Mystique": The First Review of the Critique of Pure Reason 234
The Metacritique: A Brief History of the Purisms of Reason 242
The "Genealogical Priority" of Language 248
Language as a Sacrament 253
12 Metacritical Politics: On Mendelssohn’s Jerusalem and the Modern Secular State 258
A Synopsis of Mendelssohn's Jerusalem 262
Golgotha and Scheblimini: By a Preacher in the Desert 270
Built upon Sand: The Babel of Modern Natural Rights 273
Defending Judaism against Secular Reason, or the Real Content of the Real Jerusalem 280
Prospect for Jewish–Christian Dialogue 290
Part V A Final Journey: Hamann's Last Will and Testament 291
13 Life and Writings 1785–1788 293
The Münster Circle 294
The "Dictators of Pure Reason" 296
Portrait of a Christian: Greatness in Knechtsgestalt 297
Una Sancta Ecclesia 300
A Cryptic Final Testament 301
The Journey Home 308
Conclusion. After Postmodernity: Hamann before the Postmodern Triumvirate 312
Hamann and Postmodernity 313
Hamann before Nietzsche 319
Hamann before Heidegger 326
Hamann before Derrida 331
A Concluding Postscript to Postmodernity 337
Biblical Index 341
Index 343
