In recent months, Herzl Institute scholars have published books that reframe our understanding of the Western world and religion. The Institute’s 2018 books are:
Yoram Hazony and Dru Johnson (eds.), The Question of God’s Perfection (Brill) edited a volume that critically examines the theology of perfect being in light of the Hebrew Bible and classical rabbinic sources. Leading scholars from the Jewish and Christian traditions contributed to this deep study.
Yechiel Leiter, John Locke’s Political Philosophy and the Hebrew Bible (Cambridge) demonstrates the persistent relevance of the biblical political narrative to modernity. Surprisingly, John Locke’s treatises on government make frequent reference to the Hebrew Bible, while references to the New Testament are almost completely absent. This book will generate interest among students of Locke and political theory; philosophy and early modern history; and within Bible study communities.
Joshua Weinstein, Plato’s Threefold City and Soul (Cambridge) argues that, for Plato, determination and fortitude are not just expressions of our passionate or emotional natures, but also play an essential role in the rational agency of persons and polities. The productive synergy of our tendencies and capacities becomes fully evident only in the justice of a self-sufficient political community.
