Hermann Cohen’s Shadow Dialogue with the Ritschlian School on Atonement

The present study examines the conceptual relationship between the Jewish neo-Kantian philosopher Hermann Cohen and the Ritschlian school, the dominant school of Protestant theology of his time. Its point of departure is that much can be illuminated in Cohen’s late work Religion of Reason out of the Sources of Judaism [Religion der Vernunft aus den Quellen des Judentums] by reading it in the context of contemporary Protestantism. It argues that Cohen’s notions of “reconciliation” or “atonement” [Versöhnung] and forgiveness of sin conduct a shadow dialogue with the Ritschlian school, and that they are formed, framed, and formulated with constant awareness of the prevalent Protestant stance, particularly as it is conceived by Albrecht Ritschl, the school’s so-called “father,” and Wilhelm Herrmann, Ritschl’s student and the school’s unofficial “founder.” It is suggested that the presence of the Ritschlian school in Religion of Reason is more extensive than what would be suggested by the sum total of explicit mentions of the relevant theologians’ names, and that this school serves both as a source from which Cohen draws and a foil against which he develops his own position.

Duke Scholars

Author Daniel M Herskowitz Religious Studies