Voltaire Against the Jews, or The Limits of Toleration

Clarifies Voltaire's attitude towards the Jews for the first time in a comprehensive and chronological manner Allows to philosophically reconsider Voltaire's theory of toleration in a critical light Provides new elements to reflect on the relationship between tolerance and intolerance in the Enlightenment era

Auteur

Marco Piazza is Associate Professor at the University of Roma Tre, Italy.

Texte du rabat

This book challenges Voltaire s doctrine of toleration. Can a Jew be a philosopher? And if so, at what cost? It seeks to provide an organic interpretation of Voltaire s attitude towards Jews, problematising the issue against the background of his theory of toleration. To date, no monograph entirely dedicated to this theme has been written. This book attempts to provide an answer to the crucial questions that have emerged in the past fifty years through a process of reading and analysis that starts with the publication of Des Juifs (1756), and ends with the posthumous publication of the apocryphal article Juifs in the Kehl edition of the Dictionnaire Philosophique (1784).

Contenu
Chapter 1: Introduction.- Chapter 2: The Irreverent Hermeneut.- Chapter 3: The Tolerated The Aspiring Godfather Rabbi.- Chapter 4: The Forgetful Genealogist.- Chapter 5: The Aspiring Godfather.- Chapter 6: Conclusion.- Chapter 7: Epilogue: Did Voltaire Make an Exception for a Certain Jewish Philosopher?.