Genocide in Jewish Thought

This book argues that one means of preventing genocide is to think concretely about our flesh-and-blood relations to fellow human beings.

List of contents

1. Introduction: a name, not an essence; 2. Why Jewish thought and what makes it Jewish?; 3. Deadly philosophical abstraction; 4. The stranger in your midst; 5. Nefesh: the soul as flesh and blood; 6. The environmentalist contribution to genocide; 7. Torture; 8. Hunger and homelessness; 9. Philosophy, religion, and genocide; 10. A concluding reflection on body and soul.

About the author

David Patterson holds the Hillel Feinberg Chair in Holocaust Studies in the Ackerman Center for Holocaust Studies at the University of Texas at Dallas. He has taught at Oklahoma State University and the University of Oregon. A winner of the National Jewish Book Award and the Koret Jewish Book Award, Patterson has published more than 30 books and 140 articles and chapters in journals and books on philosophy, literature, Judaism, the Holocaust, and education. His writings have been anthologized in five different collections.

Summary

Exploring issues such as how we understand the soul, the use of torture, and the prevalence of hunger, this book argues that one means of preventing genocide is to think concretely about our flesh-and-blood relations to fellow human beings. It also shows how Jewish thought promotes ways of thinking that may preclude genocide.

Product details

• Authors: David Patterson
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press ELT
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 02.01.2014
• EAN: 9781107648210
• ISBN: 978-1-107-64821-0
• No. of pages: 266
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Religion/theology > Judaism; RELIGION / Judaism / General, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Genocide & War Crimes, HISTORY / Jewish, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Jewish Studies, Judaism, Religious ethics, Genocide and ethnic cleansing, Relating to Jewish people and groups, Social groups: religious groups and communities