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Jewish and Greek Philosophy – Mitch Rocklin

April 30, 2020 | By: Rabbi Mitchell Rocklin

Modernity is often thought of as characterized by a series of contradictions: freedom vs. order, religion vs. culture, morality vs. freedom, and tradition vs. progress. Many liberals and conservatives establish their political positions by placing emphasis on one category at the expense of another, and many Jewish and Christian scholars argue that a good life involves achieving the right balance or relationship between these categories.

But are these concepts really contradictions? Or are they mutually dependent upon one another? And if they are mutually dependent, why do they seem to conflict so often?

In this episode, Rabbi Mitch Rocklin examines the question of what it means to be religious and cultured in the West. He considers how Western Civilization created unique poetic and philosophical approaches to these concepts, as well as how their development created serious crises for religious and traditional
individuals. How have great minds grappled with these crises, and how we might chart a new way forward by reexamining the origins of religion and culture and their relevance to our rapidly changing world?

Rabbi Mitchell Rocklin is a Postdoctoral Fellow at Yeshiva University’s Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education.

Read more about the course: https://www.dropbox.com/s/jaz0rpgvu8a8xxb/Virtue%20and%20Ethics%20in%20Jewish%20and%20Greek%20Thought%20-%20Reader.pdf?dl=0


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