Two Concepts of Enlightenment
The foundational principle of the Enlightenment revolves around the centrality of reason and independent thought in promoting values such as justice, human dignity, freedom, and more. This principle raises the question of its association with traditions. In this article, I aim to explore the potential enhancement of Enlightenment through a dialogue with Jewish heritage within the Israeli context. To achieve this, I differentiate between Enlightenment with an accidental connection to specific traditions and Enlightenment actively engaging in dialogue with these traditions. In the first part of the article, I sought to establish the plausibility of such a dialogue. Subsequently, in the second part, I illustrated the advantages of heritage-based Enlightenment over non-heritage Enlightenment in addressing contemporary challenges in Israel.
Prof. Meir Buzaglo teaches in the Department of Philosophy at the Hebrew University, specializing in the philosophy of logic, metaphysics, and Jewish thought. His latest book, Shema: Metaphysical Inquiry in the Light of Jewish Sources (Hebrew, published by Carmel), aims to rejuvenate Jewish thought as a contemporary philosophical discipline (other than a chapter in the history of ideas). Meir is a social activist involved in education and in reviving liturgical poetry in Israel. He is the founder and chairman of the "Tikkun" movement in Israel, which promotes dialogue with the region's heritages. The book Heritages in Search of Bridges (Hebrew) edited by him and Yafa Benaya, was published last year by Yedioth Ahronoth.
