Occidental Eschatology

One of the great Jewish intellectuals of the twentieth century, Jacob Taubes (1923–1987) was a rabbi, philosopher of religion, and scholar of Judaism. A charismatic speaker and great polemicist, he is often said to have had his greatest impact as a teacher, but his published oeuvre is increasingly becoming of interest. Stanford published a translation of his Political Theology of Paul in 2004.

"Taubes's 1947 dissertation Occidental Eschatology—wonderfully translated and introduced by David Ratmoko . . . demonstrate[s] the relevance of intellectual history and continental philosophy to the contemporary understanding of our theo-politicized world. In addition, [it] show[s] why only a Jew, or more—a German-speaking Jew—could stand at the most horrible crossroad of modern civilization shortly after the end of World War II, and teach ancient knowledge and erudition as a way to move forward beyond any simplistic solution or closure, be it nationalism, religious identity, or any social role."—Nitzan Lebovic, H-Judaic "Occidental Eschatology is not strictly an essay in the history of ideas, even if it advances daring hypotheses about the origins and development of 19th century philosophical thought. Its focus is interpretative more than historical or philological; it is more a contribution towards a new philosophy of history than a reconstruction of the past."—Michael Maidan, Philosophy in Review