Genocide in Jewish Thought

This book argues that one means of preventing genocide is to think concretely about our flesh-and-blood relations to fellow human beings.

David Patterson (Author)

9781107011045, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 26 March 2012

264 pages
23.4 x 15.8 x 2.1 cm, 0.5 kg

“Boldly and persuasively, David Patterson argues that ‘Jewish reflection on humanity’ contains keys to lock the doors leading to genocide. Steeped in Jewish texts and Hebrew language, ever mindful of genocide’s brutality, this book brims with political savvy, philosophical intelligence, and ethical insight rooted in the divine commandment: ‘You shall not murder.’” —John K. Roth, Edward J. Sexton Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, Claremont McKenna College

Among the topics explored in this book are ways of viewing the soul, the relation between body and soul, environmentalist thought, the phenomenon of torture, and the philosophical and theological warrants for genocide. Presenting an analysis of abstract modes of thought that have contributed to genocide, the book argues that a Jewish model of concrete thinking may inform our understanding of the abstractions that can lead to genocide. Its aim is to draw upon distinctively Jewish categories of thought to demonstrate how the conceptual defacing of the other human being serves to promote the murder of peoples, and to suggest a way of thinking that might help prevent genocide.

1. Introduction: a name, not an essence
2. Why Jewish thought and what makes it Jewish?
3. Deadly philosophical abstraction
4. The stranger in your midst
5. Nefesh: the soul as flesh and blood
6. The environmentalist contribution to genocide
7. Torture
8. Hunger and homelessness
9. Philosophy, religion, and genocide
10. A concluding reflection on body and soul.

Subject Areas: Judaism [HRJ], Religious ethics [HRAM1]