RS110 Lecture Notes - Elie Wiesel, Auschwitz Concentration Camp, Reconstructionist Judaism

• School: University of Waterloo
• Department: Religious Studies
• Course: RS110
• Professor: Peter Frick

Document Summary

Fall of the berlin wall at the end. Shaped western thought and philosophy: intellectual impact is on all of the western world. Immanuel kant: most powerfully formulated enlightenment principle, enlightenment is a person"s conquering of the self-inflicted state of rational immaturity. An unenlightened person is not intellectually autonomous. Rational immaturity is inability to use ones own reason without guidance of another due to a lack of boldness/courage: encouraged others to have the courage to use their own mind. Cannot return to unenlightened state: people use their own minds to interpret religion, all that we do now - scientific, intellectual, religions etc pursuits were changed due to this. Autonomy vs heteronomy - your own law vs the law of others. 1656 - excommunicated from his home synagogue: his views were "too enlightened" for the average jewish individual. Also wrote ethics: theology/metaphysics of pantheism rather than monotheism, denied the transcendence of god, god exists in everything, and we are part of everything.