Description
Book SynopsisThis book brings together secular liberal democratic thought—as found within the work of late neo-pragmatic philosopher Richard Rorty—with religious liberal thinkers—such as Martin Buber and Ernst Bloch—for the purpose of exploring the contested intellectual history of redemptive hope narratives.
Trade Review"Akiba Lerner is one of the courageous and visionary thinkers who creatively wrestle with philosophic hope grounded in prophetic praxis. He is part of a grand legacy-in family and tradition-that keeps alive a shattering of indifference and a compassion for justice." -- -Cornel West "With nuanced erudition Akiba J. Lerner brings the neo-pragmatist Richard Rorty and the Jewish existentialist Martin Buber into a dialogue to explore narrative strategies to sustain social hope in an age duly skeptical of the utopian promises of political ideologies and wary of messianic enthusiasm." -- -Paul Mendes-Flohr The University of Chicago,Professor emeritus, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem "Many scholars within the field of affect studies will appreciate Akiba Lerner's illuminating treatment of Ernst Bloch, who has emerged as a key intellectual progenitor of the field. Jewish studies scholars, in turn, will gain a new appreciation for a figure whose connection to contemporary Jewish thought has often been overlooked." -- -Nathanial Deutsch author of The Jewish Dark Continent: Life and Death in the Russian Pale of Settlement
Table of ContentsIntroduction 1. Redemptive Hope and the Cunning of History 2. Revival of Messianic Hope 3. The God of Exodus and The School of Hope 4. Richard Rorty's Post-Metaphysical Social Hope Conclusion: Between Pragmatic and Messianic Hopes Notes Index
