Encyclopedia Of Philosophy (Volume 5 of 10)

745 Pages·5.704 MB·English

by  Borchert D.M (Ed.)

eophil_fmv5 11/2/05 4:07 PM Page iii
5
KABBALAH – MARXIST PHILOSOPHY
e
m
u
l
o
v
2 n d e d i t i o n
Encyclopedia of
Philosophy
DONALD M. BORCHERT
Editor in Chief
eophil_fmv5 11/2/05 4:07 PM Page iv
Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Second Edition
Donald M. Borchert, Editor in Chief
© 2006 Thomson Gale, a part of the Thomson For permission to use material from this Since this page cannot legibly accommo-
Corporation. product, submit your request via Web at date all copyright notices, the acknowledg-
http://www.gale-edit.com/permissions, or you ments constitute an extension of the
Thomson, Star Logo and Macmillan Reference may download our Permissions Request form copyright notice.
USA are trademarks and Gale is a registered and submit your request by fax or mail to:
trademark used herein under license. While every effort has been made to
Permissions ensure the reliability of the information
For more information, contact Thomson Gale presented in this publication, Thomson Gale
Macmillan Reference USA 27500 Drake Rd. does not guarantee the accuracy of the data
An imprint of Thomson Gale Farmington Hills, MI 48331-3535 contained herein. Thomson Gale accepts no
27500 Drake Rd. Permissions Hotline: payment for listing; and inclusion in the
Farmington Hills, MI 48331-3535 248-699-8006 or 800-877-4253 ext. 8006 publication of any organization, agency,
Or you can visit our internet site at Fax: [phone] or 800-762-4058 institution, publication, service, or individual
http://www.gale.com does not imply endorsement of the editors or
publisher. Errors brought to the attention of
the publisher and verified to the satisfaction
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED of the publisher will be corrected in future
No part of this work covered by the copyright editions.
hereon may be reproduced or used in any
form or by any means—graphic, electronic, or
mechanical, including photocopying, record-
ing, taping, Web distribution, or information
storage retrieval systems—without the written
permission of the publisher.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Encyclopedia of philosophy / Donald M. Borchert, editor in chief.—2nd ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-02-865780-2 (set hardcover : alk. paper)—
ISBN 0-02-865781-0 (vol 1)—ISBN 0-02-865782-9 (vol 2)—
ISBN 0-02-865783-7 (vol 3)—ISBN 0-02-865784-5 (vol 4)—
ISBN 0-02-865785-3 (vol 5)—ISBN 0-02-865786-1 (vol 6)—
ISBN 0-02-865787-X (vol 7)—ISBN 0-02-865788-8 (vol 8)—
ISBN 0-02-865789-6 (vol 9)—ISBN 0-02-865790-X (vol 10)
1. Philosophy–Encyclopedias. I. Borchert, Donald M., 1934-
B51.E53 2005
103–dc22
2005018573
This title is also available as an e-book.
ISBN 0-02-866072-2
Contact your Thomson Gale representative for ordering information.
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
eophil_fmv5 11/2/05 4:07 PM Page v
c o n t e n t s
volume 1
PREFACE TO 2ND EDITION
INTRODUCTION TO 1ST EDITION
LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS
LIST OF ARTICLES
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF
PHILOSOPHY
2nd edition
Abbagnano–Byzantine Philosophy
volume 2
Cabanis–Destutt de Tracy
volume 3
Determinables–Fuzzy Logic
volume 4
Gadamer–Just War Theory
volume 5
Kabbalah–Marxist Philosophy
volume 6
Masaryk–Nussbaum
volume 7
Oakeshott–Presupposition
volume 8
Price–Sextus Empiricus
volume 9
Shaftesbury–Zubiri
volume 10
APPENDIX: ADDITIONAL ARTICLES
THEMATIC OUTLINE
BIBLIOGRAPHIES
INDEX
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PHILOSOPHY
2nd edition
eophil_K 11/2/05 3:39 PM Page 1
K
kabbalah Pythagorean elements which entered during the Hellenis-
tic period; Christian influences and Gnostic themes
Kabbalah (literally “tradition”) is used both as a general added at a somewhat later time; and borrowings from
name for Jewish mysticism and as the specific designation Muslim sectarianism after the emergence of Islam. This
for its major medieval variety.Mystical awareness is to be mixture of elements explains the difficulty that scholars
found in the biblical and rabbinic tradition and had liter- have found in disentangling the sources of Kabbalah. It
ary expression in some ofthe prophetic writings,psalms, should be said, however, that the pursuit of sources has
and apocalypses.More characteristically,however,what is less relevance here than it may have for other subjects,
referred to as Kabbalah is a type of occult theosophical because what is essential is not the materials out ofwhich
formulation of the doctrines of the Jewish religion,par- the Kabbalistic theosophical system was created, but
ticularly those concerned with creation, revelation, and rather the use that was made ofthe materials.
redemption. This occult system structures and, in part,
fossilizes individual intuitions ofdivine reality in terms of major doctrines
the culture in which it arose.Typically,the purpose ofthe
CREATION. All Jewish mysticism has seen the need for
complicated structuring ofthese formulated intuitions is
reinterpretation ofthe literal account ofcreation given in
to supply a focus in contemplation by which the Kabbal-
the book of Genesis.As it stands, the account does not
ist can recover the untarnished brightness of direct mys-
sufficiently emphasize the transcendence of God.God is
tical awareness.
too close to humankind and the world to be the Supreme
Besides the sources ofKabbalah in the doctrines and Mystery that the mystical temper insists He must be.The
literature of the Jewish tradition,a wide variety of other reinterpretation has generally taken form as a demiurgic
sources has been noted,which have introduced elements theory.In such a theory,God Himself,the Boundless,the
from the various cultures with which the Jewish people Infinite,the Transcendent,did not perform the material
have come in contact in their dispersion. Among these act of creating the world. This was the work of a lesser
influences should be included some Persian elements, spirit, or demiurge, who was brought into existence by
both Parsi and Zoroastrian,and Neo-Platonic and Neo- God in order to do this specific job.As the conception of
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PHILOSOPHY
• 1
2nd edition
eophil_K 11/2/05 3:39 PM Page 2
KABBALAH
God’s transcendence developed, one demiurge seemed considered;it entered only as a means to the greater end
insufficient to express the sense of awesome distance of the salvation of humankind. This would come about
between divinity and the material world.The remoteness through the agency ofa Messiah ofthe Davidic line,who
of God from the world was heightened, therefore, by would lead the Jews in triumph to the Holy Land and
adding other intermediaries and thus forming a chain inaugurate a reign of truth,justice,and mercy.The ideal
from God to matter whose links were ofincreasing mate- of salvation is thus the establishment of an earthly para-
riality. dise of human life,raised to its highest humanity.Other
elements clouded this doctrine at various times in the
A second problem in the biblical account ofcreation
history of mystical Messianism.For example,in the six-
concerns matter.Ifwe accept God as infinite,all must be
teenth century Isaac Luria introduced the idea that this
contained in Him.Where,then,is there a place for mat-
regeneration could not take place until all preexisting
ter outside of God? This issue was finally resolved by a
souls had satisfactorily completed their earthly existence
theory that combined the idea of God’s voluntary self-
and that,since some souls were too weak to go unaided
contraction with the concept of emanation. In this
through life to perfection, other superior souls might
account,God,prior to creation,was actually infinite.To
make room for creation, however, He voluntarily con- coexist with them in one body to ensure their success.
tracted or limited Himself.Some excess of spiritual sub- Although Luria’s doctrine of transmigration found fol-
stance overflowed into the space from which God had lowers,it was exceptional rather than typical;in general,
removed Himself,and this excess,or emanation,provided the Kabbalistic view ofredemption was an extreme form
both the demiurgic intermediaries described above and oftraditional Messianism.Attempts to calculate the exact
the matter out ofwhich the world was created.Because all date of the coming of the Messiah were widespread; the
substance is thus ultimately an overflowing ofGod’s sub- coincidence of various calculations in fixing on dates
stance,Kabbalah is a pantheistic doctrine.The completed close to each other was sufficient to start a wave of Mes-
series of emanations served the additional purpose of sianic movements and even to touch off a major explo-
providing the road by which humanity’s aspiring spirit sion like the widespread impassioned support ofSabbatai
might reach the heights ofdivinity;thus,it served both as Zevi,the so-called Messiah ofIsmir (1626–1676).
the mechanism of creation and as the “itinerary of the
mind to God” (to borrow an expression from St. historical expressions
Bonaventure).
While a number ofsmaller groups,such as the Essenes of
Palestine,the Therapeutae ofwhom Philo wrote,and the
REVELATION. After the first destruction ofthe Temple at
eighth-century Persian “Men of the Caves” whom the
Jerusalem,and even more after its second destruction,the
tenth-century Karaite historian Joseph ben Jacob al-
Scriptures served as a focus for the religious devotion of
Kirkisani described,maintained views similar in part to
the Jews. Their state was no more; their cultus was no
those that have been presented,these groups do not lie in
more;all that was left to them was their beliefin God and
the mainstream of Jewish mysticism.The main develop-
His Word.For the continuance of the Jewish religion,it
ment is rather to be traced from the Jewish Gnosticism of
came to seem necessary that not only the content ofrev-
the first millennium ofthe common era,with its concen-
elation,but even its physical form,should be considered
tration on the glory of God as manifested in His throne,
sacrosanct and unchangeable.In all types ofJudaism this
supposedly located in the innermost of seven heavenly
regard for the letter of Scripture made necessary the
mansions,into the parallel forms of the medieval Euro-
development ofexegetic techniques for raising the level of
pean developments of the Kabbalah—the practical,ethi-
significance of much that is trivial in the Scriptures.For
cal, and sometimes magical mysticism of the German
the mystics the problem was particularly difficult,
Jews and the speculative mysticism of the French and
because the level on which they had to interpret revela-
Spanish Jews. Thence the movement became enmeshed
tion to make it serve their purpose was highly symbolical.
in the morbidity of seventeenth-century Messianism,
To make this reinterpretation possible, the Kabbalists
before the two strains of mystical speculation and
developed letter and number symbolisms ofgreat variety
socioethical piety were reunited,in eastern Europe,in the
and complexity.
still-flourishing movement ofHasidism.
REDEMPTION. The Kabbalists maintained and even The German pietist movement developed during the
intensified the traditional Jewish view of redemption.In century between 1150 and 1250. Its chief formulators
the Kabbalistic view salvation of the individual was little were Samuel the Hasid (fl.1150),his son Judah the Hasid
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PHILOSOPHY
2 •
2nd edition
eophil_K 11/2/05 3:39 PM Page 3
KABBALAH
(d.1217),and a relative,Eleazar ofWorms (fl.1220).The There are still Kabbalistic groups in existence,chiefly
chief literary expression of the movement is the Book of in Israel, but they are for the most part outgrowths of
the Pious(Hebrew,Sefer Hasidim),a collection ofthe lit- eighteenth-century Polish Hasidism,a movement akin to,
erary remains ofthe three founders,with special empha- though by no means identical with, earlier German
sis on Judah the Hasid, whose character and influence pietism. Among major Jewish thinkers of the twentieth
recall those of his Christian contemporary,St.Francis of century, the chief rabbi of Jerusalem, Abraham Isaac
Assisi,and,perhaps,remind one also of Paracelsus,who Kook (1865–1935),approached most closely the spirit of
lived in the sixteenth century and who also combined the Kabbalah in his mystical awareness of the Messianic
genuine piety with magic.In addition to its concern with role ofthe Jewish people and in his Lurianic and Hasidic
the doctrinal elements that have already been discussed as stress on the spark ofholiness that is veiled by the mate-
characteristic of all forms of Jewish mysticism, German rial shell ofthings perceived by the senses.Martin Buber,
Hasidism defined an ideal human type and a way oflife- whose reinterpretations of the Hasidic view of life are
devoutness, rather than learning or traditionalism. The profound and suggestive, may also be named here and,
three chief elements in this devoutness were mental among younger thinkers, Abraham Joshua Heschel,
serenity,ascetic renunciation,and extreme altruism,lead- whose thought has clear kinship with Hasidic social
ing to heights ofdevotion in which true fear ofGod and ethics.
love of God became one.At these heights,the Hasid was
See also Bonaventure, St.; Buber, Martin; Cordovero,
thought to achieve a creative power ofa magical nature.
Moses ben Jacob;Creation and Conservation,Religious
In southern France, at the beginning of the thir-
Doctrine of; Gnosticism; Jewish Philosophy; Mysti-
teenth century, a more speculative Kabbalistic develop-
cism,History of;Mysticism,Nature and Assessment of;
ment began,under the sponsorship ofIsaac the Blind (fl.
Paracelsus;Philo Judaeus;Revelation.
1200) and his disciples Ezra and Azariel.Their chiefcon-
cern was the elaboration of emanation theory;they also
suggested a doctrine of metempsychosis, although they Bibliography
did not develop it fully. In Spain,Abraham ben Samuel
TEXTS
Abulafia (1240–c.1292) combined this speculation with Ofthe primary Kabbalistic literature,only the chiefsections of
the development of number and letter symbolism and the Zohar are available,in an English translation by Harry
thus became one of the central figures in the develop- Sperling,Maurice Simon,and Paul P.Levertoff.5 vols.
(London:Soncino Press,1931–1934).Other segments ofthe
ment of Kabbalah. His disciple, Joseph ben Abraham
Zohar in inferior translations are included in S.L.
Gikatilia (c. 1247–1305), presented both the techniques
MacGregor Mathers,The Kabbalah Unveiled(London,
for symbolic interpretation and the doctrine of the ten 1887).A theosophized version ofSefer Yetzirahis Knut
emanations (Hebrew,sephiroth) in systematically interre- Stenring,The Book ofFormation(London,1923).The
Hebrew texts have not been critically edited.
lated form.About 1290 the Spanish Kabbalist Moses ben
Among recent writers ofa mystical bent,the works ofMartin
Shemtob de Leon (d.1305) produced the work that,for
Buber are readily available in English translations.None of
many, represents the Kabbalah in its entirety: the lush
Abraham Isaac Kook’s works have been translated;however,
compendium ofesoteric doctrines in the form ofa com- there are good discussions ofhis life and thought in Jacob
mentary on the Pentateuch known as The Book ofSplen- Agus,Banner ofJerusalem(New York:Bloch,1946) and
dor (Hebrew, Sefer Ha-Zohar). From the time of its Isidore Epstein,Abraham Kook,His Life and Works(London,
1951).A.J.Heschel is best represented by God in Search of
composition,this work has been the chiefsource ofinspi-
Man: A Philosophy ofJudaism.(New York:Farrar Straus,
ration for later Jewish mystics and for Jewish mysticism.
1955).
Of later Kabbalistic leaders, two in particular should be
HISTORY OF KABBALAH
mentioned: Moses ben Jacob Cordovero (1522–1570),
See Joshua Abelson,Jewish Mysticism(London,1913);
whose book,A Garden of Pomegranates (Hebrew,Pardes
Christian D.Ginsburg,The Kabbalah: Its Doctrine,
Rimmonim), is the most systematic and philosophical Development,and Literature(London,1920);Adolph
exposition of the doctrines of the Kabbalah up to his Franck,The Kabbalah: or,the Religious Philosophy ofthe
time;and his pupil,Isaac Luria (1534–1572),who left no Hebrews(New York:Kabbalah,1926);Abba Hillel Silver,A
History ofMessianic Speculation in Israel from the First
written legacy,but whose disciples have made it clear that
through the Seventeenth Centuries(Boston:Beacon Press,
he developed the theosophic doctrines of creation and
1959);Gershom G.Scholem,Major Trends in Jewish
redemption far beyond his predecessors. Mysticism(New York:Schocken,1946;and Joseph L.Blau,
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PHILOSOPHY
• 3
2nd edition
eophil_K 11/2/05 3:39 PM Page 4
KABBALAH [ADDENDUM]
The Story ofJewish Philosophy(New York:Random House, sixteenth-century Lurianic Kabbalah of Sfat, northern
1962). Israel.
J.L.Blau (1967) In some ways an even bolder innovation on Ibn
Ezra’s part was his emphasis on the importance of the
mitzvot (religious commandments) that,when practiced
kabbalah [addendum] correctly, could affect the deity. This theory influenced
theurgical Kabbalah.It was instrumental in lending a psy-
Medieval Jewish philosophy contributed considerably to chological dimension to the practice of Kabbalah, in
which human beings could be regarded as influencing the
the mystical branch ofJudaism known as Kabbalah.This
deity by means ofthe sefirot.
movement is generally regarded as having its origins
in twelfth and thirteenth-century Provence in the It is therefore not completely accurate to view Kab-
midrashically styled Bahir (Book of Enlightenment). balah solely as a movement (or series ofmovements) that
Some, however, consider the much earlier Sefer Yetsirah emerges during certain tragic times ofJewish history.It is
(Book ofFormation)—from the third through the seventh more accurate to see it as being embedded at the heart of
centuries—to be the earliest work ofKabbalah. the Jewish religion, with biblical and rabbinic
antecedents.Kabbalah has also been compared to mysti-
Chief among the philosophers who influenced con-
cal traditions in other religions,notably Sufism,in which
cepts within Kabbalah were those who thrived in the
emphasis is placed on experience of the Divine. This
Muslim cultures of Babylon (Iraq) and Spain.An exam-
approach has paralleled neuroscientific interest in the
ple is Saadya Gaon (882—942), head of the Babylonian
field ofconsciousness studies.Lastly,developments in the
Yeshivah (religious academy) of Pumbedita. Although
study oflanguage and linguistics have led to emphasis on
Saadya was a rationalist philosopher, he nevertheless
the importance ofthe “text”and letter mysticism in Kab-
published a detailed commentary on Sefer Yetsirah. In
balah. Interest in Kabbalah may thus be summarized as
addition, he posited an intermediary between God and
historical, philosophical, psychological, linguistic, and
creation,known as the kavodor “glory.”It is possible that
experiential,but as being grounded in the same intellec-
this concept was influenced by the Karaite thinker,Ben-
tual milieu as more conventional Jewish genres.
jamin al-Nahawandi (830–860),and that both were influ-
enced by the Muslim kalamic (theological) view of the
See alsoChinese Philosophy:Buddhism;Consciousness;
“creative word” of God. Contextually, the idea of the
Experimentation and Instrumentation;Islamic Philos-
kavod is less likely to have been influenced by Christian
ophy; Jewish Philosophy; Mysticism, History of; Phi-
ideas of the logos. The concept of an intermediary
losophy ofLanguage;Postmodernism;Sufism.
between God and creation influenced the seminal idea of
the sefirot(emanations from the Divine),as developed in
all major kabbalistic works. Bibliography
Abraham ibn Ezra (1089–1164) was born in Muslim TRANSLATIONS INTO ENGLISH OF MAJOR KABBALIS-
TIC WORKS
Tudela, northern Spain, but lived to see both his own
Kaplan,Aryeh.The Bahir.New York:Samuel Weiser,1979.
birthplace and other major Spanish cities taken by Chris-
Kaplan,Aryeh.Sefer Yetzirah.Rev.ed.York Beach,ME:Samuel
tian forces before he was thirty.At fifty he left Spain and
Weiser,1997.
traveled through northern Christian Europe, dying in a
Matt,Daniel.The Zohar.Vols.1–2.Stanford,CA:Stanford
pogrom in London in 1164.Through his travels,he influ- University Press,2004.
enced kabbalistic thought in Ashkenazi and Christian Tishby,Isaiah.The Wisdom ofthe Zohar.3 vols.Translated by
domiciles at both a theoretical and practical level. For David Goldstein.Oxford:Oxford University Press,1991
(1949).
example,Ibn Ezra’s complex attitude to the preexistence
of“matter”impacted on circles in Provence,out ofwhich SECONDARY SOURCES
the foundations for the Bahir emerged. The problem of Idel,Moshe.Absorbing Perfections.New Haven,CT:Yale
University Press,2002.
“matter,”which had not been widely discussed in works
Idel,Moshe.Kabbalah: New Perspectives.New Haven,CT:Yale
ofpopular Jewish biblical exegesis before Ibn Ezra,played
University Press,1988.
a seminal part in kabbalistic thinking,both in relation to
Lancaster,Brian,L.Approaches to Consciousness: The Marriage
the sefirot and also in discussions about the origins and
ofScience and Mysticism.Houndsmill,U.K.:Palgrave
role ofevil in the universe.This is particularly true ofthe Macmillan,2004.
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PHILOSOPHY
4 •
2nd edition
eophil_K 11/2/05 3:39 PM Page 5
KAFKA,FRANZ
Lancaster,Brian,L.The Essence ofKabbalah.London:Arcturus, ioned from them has become one of the major literary
2005. and intellectual influences ofour age.In Kafka’s work the
Lancaster,Irene.Deconstructing the Bible.London:Routledge
existentialists’ conceptions of absurdity and dread are
Curzon,2003.
fully explored.Unlike the later existentialists,he did not
Scholem,Gershom.Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism.New
derive a positive value from these modes of experience;
York:Schocken,1961.
the value ofhis writings lies in the intense lucidity ofthe
Scholem,Gershom.On the Kabbalah and Its Symbolism.New
York:Schocken,1965. exploration.
Wolfson,Elliot R.Through a Speculum That Shines.Princeton
It is obvious from the very titles of many of Kafka’s
NJ:Princeton University Press,1994.
stories—The Trial, “The Judgment,” “Before the Law,”
Irene Lancaster (2005) “The Penal Settlement”—that his work is informed by a
strong legalistic strain, possibly derived from his Jewish
heritage but then secularized.In the famous “Letter to His
kafka, franz Father”(1919) he recounted a certain childhood episode
that violated his sense ofjustice.Characteristically,its ter-
(1883–1924)
ror for him lay in his inability to connect the trivial
“crime”with the monstrous punishment he received.
Franz Kafka,the German author,was the son ofa Jewish
businessman who had been a peddler in southern The novel The Trial,begun in 1914 and published by
Bohemia.The family was German-speaking.Kafka stud- Kafka’s friend Max Brod in 1925,at once challenges and
ied law at the German University of Prague and at refines our conventional ways of connecting causes and
Munich and became an official of a workers’ accident effects through the story of a young man, Josef K, who
insurance company.He began writing in 1907 but by his one day wakes up in his lodgings to find himselfarrested
own choice published little. About that time he con- without knowing what wrong he has done.He makes var-
tracted tuberculosis and for some years lived in various ious attempts to justify himself against the enigmatic
sanatoriums. His two engagements ended unhappily. In accusation and to influence a number of people who he
1923 he moved to Berlin, where, living with a girl who believes may effect his acquittal. Although offered a
was in charge of a Jewish orphanage, he achieved what chance ofrepudiating the jurisdiction ofthe court that is
happiness he was to know.He died ofa tubercular infec- concerned with his case,he ends up by being marched off
tion of the larynx in a nursing home at Kierling, near to his execution,to die “like a dog.”
Vienna.
The question What has JosefK done? receives a num-
The central experience ofKafka’s life,it seems,was a ber of detailed answers, the total effect of which is to
manifold alienation—as a speaker ofGerman in a Czech undermine the reader’s notion of guilt.Josef K has lived
city, as a Jew among German and Czech Gentiles in a the unremarkable life of an average young man, a bank
period ofardent nationalism,as a man full ofdoubts and clerk.Since in his “ordinary”life he always based his rela-
an unquenched thirst for faith among conventional “lib-
tions with other people on asserting what he believed
eral”Jews,as a born writer among people with business
were his “rights”in this or that situation,it is consistent
interests,as a sick man among the healthy,and as a timid
with his character that he should seek to justify himself
and neurasthenic lover in exacting erotic relationships.
before the Law.The only thing he knows about that Law
Kafka’s narrative art is at once immensely original, (and the all but unattainable authority behind it) is that
prophetic,and fragmentary—hence the large number of it is powerful, whereas he is weak. According to the
mutually exclusive interpretations it has received.Several “inescapable logic” of the world, he must therefore be
elements ofhis prose were the stock in trade ofthe minor outside the Law and thus,in some sense,guilty.With his
literature of his day. His language is unemphatic and every move the not wholly irrational sense of guilt drags
prosy and occasionally contains Prague-German provin- more violently at his soul.At first,this sense is no more
cialisms;some ofthe subjects ofhis stories belong to the than an uneasy “They are sure to have something on me,”
horror literature of the turn of the twentieth century;he but gradually it is magnified by all the actions,in them-
shared the modern interest in psychological motivation; selves trivial,which constitute “normal”behavior in our
and he often used the smaller prose genres cultivated by world,coupled with JosefK’s inability to live “outside the
his contemporaries in Prague and Vienna. But the use Law,”which for Kafka amounted to consciousness itself.
Kafka made of these elements is startlingly original,and Simplifying the subtly involuted and complex texture of
the compelling gnostic vision of the world that is fash- the novel,we may conclude that “minor guilt + situation
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PHILOSOPHY
• 5
2nd edition
eophil_K 11/2/05 3:39 PM Page 6
KAFKA,FRANZ
of weakness + self-justification = major sense of guilt,” more than a matter of superior might, for the victim
which is tantamount to saying that Kafka’s dialectical cooperates in his own destruction.
ingenuity is expended on making convincing the equa-
tion “[subjective] sense ofguilt = [objective] guilt.” See alsoAlienation;Consciousness;Existentialism;Guilt;
Metaphor.
Similar dialectical devices are used in the second
major work,the unfinished novel The Castle(1921–1922,
published 1926).K,a land surveyor,has been called to a Bibliography
village that is governed by an authority that resides in a
WORKS BY KAFKA
nearby castle. The village and its inhabitants are
Most ofKafka’s writings were published posthumously and
described only as they are related to K and to his attempts
against his express wishes by his friend Max Brod.The
to justify his presence there.His commission,the author- complete edition is Werke(Frankfurt,1952–).The
ity on whose behalfhe is to perform it,its relation to him- “definitive”English edition,published in London,includes
self and to the villagers,the extent of its power,and the The Trial,translated by Willa Muir and Edwin Muir (1945);
Kafka’s Diaries,2 vols.,translated by J.Kresh,M.Greenberg,
morality of its commands—all these are not so much
and H.Arendt (1948–1949);America,translated by Willa
vague as complexly contradictory. (Kafka was propheti-
Muir and Edwin Muir (1949);In the Penal Settlement: Tales
cally describing the anonymous, muffled workings of a and Short Prose Works,translated by Willa Muir and Edwin
totalitarian ministry as they affect the helpless victim,but Muir (1949);The Castle,translated by Willa Muir and
since his style is that of an “objective”report,he allowed Edwin Muir (1953);Wedding Preparations in the Country
and Other Posthumous Prose Writings,translated by Ernst
himself no expressions of pity.) Every assurance that K
Kaiser and Eithne Wilkins (1954);and Description ofa
receives is thrown into doubt either by an oblique contra-
Struggle and The Great Wall ofChina,translated by Willa
diction or by K’s own unnerved (and, to the reader, Muir and Edwin Muir and Tania Stern and James Stern
unnerving) insistence on exploring its possible ambigui- (1960).See also Kafka’s Letters to Milena(Jesenská),
translated by Tania Stern and James Stern (London,1953),
ties.
and G.Janouch’s Conversations with Kafka(New York,
Again,the novel elaborates a vicious circle.K uses the 1953).
people he meets in order to wrest from them hints or
WORKS ON KAFKA
indications about his task and status but because he lacks
Three biographical studies are available:Max Brod,Franz
the assurance ofa clearly defined status and task,he is an Kafka: Eine Biographie(Frankfurt,1937),translated as The
outsider and thus in a position of weakness.He is there- Biography ofFranz Kafka(London:Secker and Warburg,
fore bound to construe all these hints as hostile and thus 1947);K.Wagenbach,Franz Kafka: Eine Biographie seiner
Jugend,1883–1912(Bern:Francke,1958);and P.Eisner,
distrust them.K does not have enough strength to break
Franz Kafka and Prague(New York:Arts,1950).
the spell that the Castle (like the court in The Trial) seems
For critical works on Kafka see G.Anders,Franz Kafka
to be casting over him,for he looks to it as the place that,
(London:Bowes and Bowes,1960);Ronald D.Gray,ed.,
in justifying him, will give him strength. And, to keep Kafka: A Collection ofCritical Essays(Englewood Cliffs,NJ:
alive K’s torments ofuncertainty,the Castle need do little Prentice-Hall,1962),which has important contributions by
Albert Camus and E.Heller;and Heinz Politzer,Franz
more than send an occasional hint of a possible way of
Kafka: Parable and Paradox(Ithaca,NY:Cornell University
deliverance.
Press,1962).
Leaving aside the various Freudian, Marxist, and
OTHER RECOMMENDED SOURCES
Christian interpretations that Kafka’s work has received,
Biemel,Walter.“Franz Kafka:The Necessity for a Philosophical
its fragmentary nature points to a fundamental hiatus. Interpretation ofHis Work.”In Explanation and Value in the
His heroes’ desolate quests for justice, recognition, and Arts,edited by Salim Kemal and Ivan Gaskell.New York:
acceptance by the world are meaningful to us because Cambridge University Press,1993.
they invoke our sense of pity and justice, whereas the Cooper,Gabriele von Natzmer.Kafka and Language: In the
Stream ofThoughts and Life.Riverside:Ariadne Press,1991.
matter-of-fact ways in which these quests are presented
Heidsieck,Arnold.The Intellectual Contexts ofKafka’s Fiction:
invite us to accept cruelty and injustice as though they
Philosophy,Law,Religion.Columbia:Camden House,1994.
were necessary and self-evident modes of life.Thus,the
Wade,Geoff.“Marxism and Modernist Aesthetics:Reading
meaningfulness ofthe quests is impaired.Kafka’s writings Kafka and Beckett.”In The Politics ofPleasure: Aesthetics and
are indeed prophetic intimations ofthe logic ofthe con- Cultural Theory,edited by Stephen Regan.Buckingham;
centration camps;the monstrous insinuation inherent in Philadelphia:Open University Press,1992.
his prophecies is that the exterminator is not wholly in J.P.Stern (1967)
the wrong, that his hold over his victim is something Bibliography updated by Desiree Matherly Martin (2005)
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PHILOSOPHY
6 •
2nd edition
eophil_K 11/2/05 3:39 PM Page 7
KALON
kaibara ekken
See alsoChinese Philosophy;ItoJinsai;Japanese Philoso-
phy; Ogyu Sorai; Wang Yang-ming; Yamazaki Ansai;
(1630–1714)
Zhu Xi (Chu Hsi).
Kaibara Ekken,or Ekiken,a Japanese Confucianist influ-
ential in popularizing Confucian ethics among ordinary
Bibliography
people,was born in Fukuoka.The son of a physician,he
Kaibara’s works are available in Japanese in Ekken zenshu
became a doctor himself,then left medicine to become a
(Complete works ofKaibara Ekken),edited by Ekkenkai, 8
Zhu Xi neo-Confucianist. His teachers in Kyoto were
vols.(Tokyo,1911).A secondary source in Japanese is Inoue
Kinoshita Junan (1621–1698) and Yamazaki Ansai. At Tadashi,Kaibara Ekken(Tokyo,1963).
thirty-nine Kaibara returned to Fukuoka,where he spent See also O.Graf,Kaibara Ekiken(Leiden:Brill,1942);S.
the rest ofhis life in the service ofthe Kuroda fief.Blessed Atsuharu,“Kaibara E.and Onna daigaku,”in Cultural
with an extraordinary capacity for work but little origi- Nippon7 (4) (1939):43–56;and W.T.de Bary,Ryusaku
Tsunoda,and Donald Keene,eds.,Sources ofJapanese
nality,he wrote on many subjects.He became an impor-
Tradition(New York:Columbia University Press,1958),pp.
tant botanist with the issuing of separate books on the
374–377.
vegetables, the flora, and the medicinal herbs of Japan.
Gino K.Piovesana,S.J.(1967)
His books on education were pioneering works in peda-
gogy;Onna daigaku(The great learning for women),the
standard book on women’s ethics in the Tokugawa era,is
attributed variously to him and to his well-educated wife. kalon
His books were a great success.Unlike most Confucian-
ists,who wrote in Chinese,he wrote in Japanese;further- Kalon: the neuter of the Greek adjective kalos,beautiful,
more, his teaching was highly practical, applying fine,also admirable,noble; accompanied by the definite
Confucian morality to everyday life. His pedagogical article (to kalon),for example,the beautiful (or beauty).
ideas were not equalitarian (he assigned to women the In Greek culture, what is kalon is typically the object
role of mere submissiveness and obedience to their hus- of erôs, passionate or romantic love, and in (male-
bands),and his botanical studies were not at all scientific dominated) literature (and art), the term is predomi-
in the modern sense,but he played an important role in nantly applied to males around the age of puberty.Plato
spreading education. appropriates the kalon(along with the good and the just)
Kaibara’s philosophical importance today rests on as a key object for human striving and understanding in
his Taigiroku(The great doubt),in which he aired his dis- general,discovering in it,along with the good,one ofthe
sent with the official doctrine of the Zhu Xi school. properties of the universe and of existence;erôsitself,in
Kaibara was also critical of the “ancient learning”school Plato,is transformed from a species of love into love or
of Confucianism and its scholars Ito Jinsai and Ogyu desire tout court, for whatever is truly desirable—and
Sorai,and ofthe Wang Yangming school,the rival ofZhu good (for the human agent). See especially his Sympo-
Xi. Kaibara disagreed with Zhu Xi Confucianism in his sium,Phaedrus(Hippias Major,possibly not by Plato,rep-
elevation of ki, the material force, over ri, the principle resents an unsuccessful attempt to define the kalon).The
immanent in all things.For him kiis the “great limit”or truly beautiful, or fine, is identical with the truly good,
the “ultimate”and is an all-pervading life force.Kaibara and also with the truly pleasant, as it is for Aristotle
does not distinguish the original form of human nature (Eudemian Ethics I.1, 1214a1–8). The Aristotelian good
from its acquired form;contrary to Zhu Xi,he is an opti- man acts ”for the sake of the fine (to kalon)” (Nico-
mist in his view ofman and ofthe natural world.His cos- machean Ethics IV.2,1122b6–7),an idea which is some-
mology is characterized by cosmic love that embraces all times used as a basis for attributing to Aristotle a
men,born as they are ofheaven and earth.Man’s indebt- quasi-Kantian view of the ideal agent as acting morally,
edness to nature is limitless,and for him the Confucian even—if occasion arises—altruistically, as opposed to
virtue of jen,“humaneness,”comes close to being a reli- acting out ofa concern for his or her own good or pleas-
gious benevolence, first toward nature and then toward ure. Against this, we need to take account of Aristotle’s
men. His practical bent, however, makes it difficult to treatment ofhis good person as a self-lover,someone who
clarify his position, which seems to be one of eclectic seeks a disproportionate share of the fine for himself or
doubt rather than critical inquiry.In administrative mat- herself (NE IX.8, 1169a35–b1), though he or she may
ters Kaibara opposed imitating Chinese ways; rather he willingly concede his or her share to a friend (NE IX.8,
was an ardent patriot,loyal in support ofthe emperor. 1169a32–34). This is consistent with Aristotle’s wanting
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PHILOSOPHY
• 7
2nd edition