Whitehead Rosenzweig and the Agenda For
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This response essay examines Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson's proposal for incorporating Process Theology into contemporary Jewish thought as an alternative to traditional Aristotelian-Platonic philosophical frameworks. The author employs critical analysis and comparative methodology to evaluate Artson's five central theses, which advocate for Process Theology as a more credible interpretive schema for foundational rabbinic texts in light of modern scientific developments. The study traces the intellectual lineage of Process Philosophy from Alfred North Whitehead through influential Jewish thinkers including Mordecai Kaplan, Milton Steinberg, and Max Kadushin, while contrasting this tradition with the dominant Germanic continental philosophy exemplified by Hermann Cohen, Martin Buber, and Franz Rosenzweig. The analysis identifies eight specific challenges that contemporary physical cosmology poses to traditional Jewish beliefs about creation, including quantum mechanical implications for individual autonomy, divine providence in light of modern astronomy, and the relationship between God and space-time. The author concludes that both Whiteheadian Process Philosophy and a scientifically-informed reading of Rosenzweig-Cohen philosophy offer viable paths for developing Jewish theology capable of addressing modern scientific challenges. The essay supports Artson's call for Jewish thought to engage more seriously with empirical science rather than relying primarily on Continental Romantic literary traditions, arguing that such engagement is essential for the intellectual credibility and survival of contemporary Jewish philosophy.

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Norbert Samuelson