Seekers of Unity Seekers

Dylan Shaul presents the one of the most important events in modern philosophy, the Pantheism Controversy sparked by the reception of Spinoza in 18th century Germany. The Controversy involved the greatest German philosophers of the period, and laid the foundations for the next 200 years of European thought. In the balance of the Pantheism Controversy hung the fate of the Enlightenment and Modernity; the fate of faith and reason, religion and philosophy; the fate of freedom, of the immortal soul, and even of God Godself. Our story will take us from the renegade Jewish philosopher Baruch Spinoza, to the heyday of the German Aufklärung or Enlightenment, through the philosophical revolution of Immanuel Kant, and eventually the birth of German Idealism itself.

In the first episode of the series, we explored the philosophy of Spinoza and its reception in Germany, which first spurred the controversy. In the second episode we explored Immanuel Kant’s response to Spinozism and the Pantheism Controversy, where he attempted to stake out a middle ground between reason and faith. In this third episode we’ll tackle Hegel’s efforts to solve the Pantheism Controversy by reconciling Spinoza and Kant—thereby attempting to complete the grand journey from nihilism to Absolute Spirit.

Dylan Shaul is a PhD candidate in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Toronto. His dissertation is titled Hegel's Concept of Reconciliation: On Absolute Spirit. He has also published on Spinoza, Kant, Kierkegaard, Husserl, Adorno, Levinas, Kristeva, and Derrida. See more of his work here: https://www.dylanshaul.com

00:00 Introduction to Hegel
06:04 Substance and Subject: ‘The True is the Whole’
13:30 Hegel’s Encyclopedia System: Logic, Nature, Spirit
22:21 Hegel on Pantheism
35:51 Hegel on the ‘Death of God’
54:49 Critical Reception of Hegel
1:02:11 Conclusion


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Dylan Shaul presents the one of the most important events in modern philosophy, the Pantheism Controversy sparked by the reception of Spinoza in 18th century Germany. The Controversy involved the greatest German philosophers of the period, and laid the foundations for the next 200 years of European thought. In the balance of the Pantheism Controversy hung the fate of the Enlightenment and Modernity; the fate of faith and reason, religion and philosophy; the fate of freedom, of the immortal soul, and even of God Godself. Our story will take us from the renegade Jewish philosopher Baruch Spinoza, to the heyday of the German Aufklärung or Enlightenment, through the philosophical revolution of Immanuel Kant, and eventually the birth of German Idealism itself.

In the first episode of the series, we explored the philosophy of Spinoza and its reception in Germany, which first spurred the controversy. In this second episode we'll explore Immanuel Kant’s response to Spinozism and the Pantheism Controversy, where he attempted to stake out a middle ground between reason and faith. In the third episode we’ll tackle Hegel’s efforts to solve the Pantheism Controversy by reconciling Spinoza and Kant—thereby attempting to complete the grand journey from nihilism to Absolute Spirit.


Dylan Shaul is a PhD candidate in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Toronto. His dissertation is titled Hegel's Concept of Reconciliation: On Absolute Spirit. He has also published on Spinoza, Kant, Kierkegaard, Husserl, Adorno, Levinas, Kristeva, and Derrida. See more of his work here: https://www.dylanshaul.com

00:00 Introduction to Kant
04:25 Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason
09:35 Practical Rational Faith
14:26 Critical Reception of Kant

Join Seekers:
https://discord.gg/EQtjK2FWsm
https://instagram.com/seekersofunity
https://www.twitter.com/seekersofu
https://facebook.com/seekersofunity

Support Seekers:
https://www.patreon.com/seekers
https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=RKCYGQSMJFDRU

Dylan Shaul presents the one of the most important events in modern philosophy, the Pantheism Controversy sparked by the reception of Spinoza in 18th century Germany. The Controversy involved the greatest German philosophers of the period, and laid the foundations for the next 200 years of European thought. In the balance of the Pantheism Controversy hung the fate of the Enlightenment and Modernity; the fate of faith and reason, religion and philosophy; the fate of freedom, of the immortal soul, and even of God Godself. Our story will take us from the renegade Jewish philosopher Baruch Spinoza, to the heyday of the German Aufklärung or Enlightenment, through the philosophical revolution of Immanuel Kant, and eventually the birth of German Idealism itself.

In this first episode of the series, we’ll explore the philosophy of Spinoza and its reception in Germany, which first spurred the controversy. In the second episode we’ll turn to Kant’s response to the controversy, in which he tried to stake out a middle ground between reason and faith. In the third episode we’ll tackle Hegel’s efforts to solve the Pantheism Controversy by reconciling Spinoza and Kant—thereby attempting to complete the grand journey from nihilism to Absolute Spirit.

Dylan Shaul is a PhD candidate in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Toronto. His dissertation is titled Hegel's Concept of Reconciliation: On Absolute Spirit. He has also published on Spinoza, Kant, Kierkegaard, Husserl, Adorno, Levinas, Kristeva, and Derrida. See more of his work here: https://www.dylanshaul.com

00:00 Intro the Series
06:04 Introduction to Spinoza
11:21 Spinoza’s Philosophy
17:53 Critical Reception of Spinoza
22:47 The Pantheism Controversy


Join Seekers:
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https://facebook.com/seekersofunity

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Join Biti Roi in a critical and meaningful exploration of religious faith and doubt as filtered through the mind of a radical mystic, Rabbi Nachman of Breslov and the luminous words of the Tikkunei Zohar.

Dr. Biti Roi is a Senior Fellow of the Kogod Research Center of Contemporary Jewish Thought. Biti holds a Ph.D from Bar Ilan University and is a lecturer in the Department of Jewish Thought at the Hebrew University and the Schechter Institute in Jerusalem, where she teaches kabbalah and Hasidism. She was a leader and participant in the first cohort of the Beit Midrash for Israeli Rabbis and teaches at the Shalom Hartman Institute for various programs in Israel and abroad.

Biti has won several prizes and post doctorate fellowships (Kreitman, Polack, Elyashar) at Ben-Gurion University and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Her book, Love of Shekhina: Mysticism and Poetics in Tiqqunei ha-Zohar, was awarded the Matanel World Union of Jewish Studies Prize for the best book in Jewish Studies.
Source: https://www.hartman.org.il/person/biti-roi/


00:00 Excerpt
00:17 Opening
01:20 Why R' Nachman is still alive
08:29 A Personal Journey
15:01 R' Nachman
18:50 R’ Nachman's Path
26:08 The Body
30:48 Radical Mystic
35:32 Scholar and Seeker
41:54 Question
47:39 Storyteller
59:06 R' Nachman and the Zohar
1:12:08 Core Themes
1:17:35 Thank you


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Thank you to our beloved Patrons: Billy, Jackie, Andrew, Josh, Glenn, Zv, George, Ivana, Keenan, Gab, John, Victoria, Casey, Joseph, Brad, Benjamin, Arin, jXaviErre, Margo, Gale, Eny, Kim, Michael, Kirk, Ron, Seth, Daniel, Raphael, Daniel, Jason, Sergio, Leila, Wael, Simona, Francis, Etty, Stephen, Arash, William, Michael, Matija, Timony, Vilijami, Stoney, El techo, Stephen, Ross, Ahmed, Alexander, Diceman, Hannah, Julian, Leo, Sim, Sultan, John, Joshua, Igor, Chezi, Jorge, Andrew, Alexandra, Füsun, Lucas, Andrew, Stian, Ivana, Aédàn, Darjeeling, Astarte, Declan, Gregory, Alex, Charlie, Anonymous, Joshua, Arin, Sage, Marcel, Ahawk, Yehuda, Kevin, Evan, Shahin, Al Alami, Dale, Ethan, Gerr, Effy, Noam, Ron, Shtus, Mendel, Jared, Tim, Mystic Experiment, MM, Lenny, Justin, Joshua, Jorge, Wayne, Jason, Caroline, Yaakov, Daniel, Wodenborn, Steve, Collin, Justin, Mariana, Vic, Shaw, Carlos, Nico, Isaac, Frederick, David, Ben, Rodney, Charley, Jonathan, Chelsea, Curly Joe, Adam and Andre.

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Join us on a journey of faith and heresy with Rabbi Dr. Shraga Bar-On through a neglected chapter in the history of Jewish mysticism, the mysticism of the great sages of the Mishna and the Talmud. In a rich culture of dispute, rabbinic voices debate the mystical. Shraga gives us a first-hand creative rereading of one of the most mystical rabbinic passages, the famed ‘Four Who Entered the Orchard’ shedding light on its secret history and transformation from a forbidding tale of three, to a cautionary tale of four. Join us as we venture into the orchard, discover its pitfalls, promises, presences and pleasures, and whatever you do, don’t say ‘water, water.’

Rabbi Dr. Shraga Bar-On is the Director of the Kogod Research Center for Contemporary Jewish Thought and the David Hartman Center for Intellectual Excellence, and a lecturer of Talmud and Jewish Thought at Shalem College.

At the David Hartman Center, he is responsible for the advanced training of aspiring public intellectuals through the Beit Midrash for Israeli Rabbis, the David Hartman postdoctoral fellowship, and the Maskilot fellowship for women pursuing their doctorate. His research in Jewish philosophy and identity addresses a wide range of eras and topics: Second Temple literature, Mishnaic and Talmudic scholarship, medieval Jewish literature, early Zionism, and contemporary Jewish identity. His books and other works have been published in academic, popular, and educational contexts.


Shraga lives in Beit Horon, is married to Vered, and is the father of Peleg, Sinai, and Gefen.
Source: https://www.hartman.org.il/person/shraga-bar-on/



00:00 Excerpt
00:48 Mysticism among the Rabbis
11:50 A Culture of Dispute
26:41 Normal Mysticism – Akiva
30:21 Four Who Entered
44:39 Battling Schools
52:53 Encountering Two Gods
59:45 Relevance Today


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Thank you to our beloved Patrons: Frederique, Laurie, Joshua, Spacecowboy, Cliffton, Steve, Billy, Jackie, Andrew, Josh, Glenn, Zv, George, Ivana, Keenan, Gab, John, Victoria, Casey, Joseph, Brad, Benjamin, Arin, jXaviErre, Margo, Gale, Eny, Kim, Michael, Kirk, Ron, Seth, Daniel, Raphael, Daniel, Jason, Sergio, Leila, Wael, Simona, Francis, Etty, Stephen, Arash, William, Michael, Matija, Timony, Vilijami, Stoney, El techo, Stephen, Ross, Ahmed, Alexander, Diceman, Hannah, Julian, Leo, Sim, Sultan, John, Joshua, Igor, Chezi, Jorge, Andrew, Alexandra, Füsun, Lucas, Andrew, Stian, Ivana, Aédàn, Darjeeling, Astarte, Declan, Gregory, Alex, Charlie, Anonymous, Joshua, Arin, Sage, Marcel, Ahawk, Yehuda, Kevin, Evan, Shahin, Al Alami, Dale, Ethan, Gerr, Effy, Noam, Ron, Shtus, Mendel, Jared, Tim, Mystic Experiment, MM, Lenny, Justin, Joshua, Jorge, Wayne, Jason, Caroline, Yaakov, Daniel, Wodenborn, Steve, Collin, Justin, Mariana, Vic, Shaw, Carlos, Nico, Isaac, Frederick, David, Ben, Rodney, Charley, Jonathan, Chelsea, Curly Joe, Adam and Andre.

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Join us for a laborious and enlivening conversation on birth and rebirth, hope and fear, beauty and chaos, spirit and matter - winding through the tunnels of Kabbalah and Psychoanalysis.

Dr. Ruth Kara-Ivanov Kaniel (Ph.D. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 2010) is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Jewish History and Thought at the University of Haifa where she heads the Posen Saulire Foundation-funded Jewish Israeli Culture Program. She also serves as Research Fellow at the Tel Aviv Institute for Contemporary Psychoanalysis and at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem. Her research deals with intersections between mysticism, gender, and psychoanalysis.
Dr. Kara-Ivanov Kaniel was a postdoctoral fellow at New York University, the HBI center at Brandeis University, and a Kreitman and Matanel at Ben-Gurion University. She also headed a Research Group on “Psychoanalysis and Kabbalah” at the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute. Her book Holiness and Transgression: Mothers of the Messiah in the Jewish Myth was published by Academic Studies Press (2017). Her book Human Ropes—Birth in Kabbalah and Psychoanalysis” won the Gorgias Press competition for Jewish Thought and will soon be published by De Gruyter Press. Her new book, The Feminine Messiah: King David in the Image of the Shekhina in Kabbalistic Literature (2021) was published recently by Brill. A poet and editor of poetry, as well as translator of Russian poets into Hebrew, her book The World Has No Silence (2011) won the Rachel Negev Literature Award. Her The Soul is Moved was published in the Ritmus Poetry Series of the Hakibbutz Hameuhad Press in 2017. Her latest poetry book, Diamonds and Ashes, will be published by Pardes Press in 2022.

Think better. Do better. Hartman scholars bring you the big Jewish ideas we need for this moment. Study with them in free virtual classes or watch the videos at: www.shalomhartman.org/ideasfortoday - www.youtube.com/@ShalomHartmanInstitute

00:00 Excerpt
00:48 Scholarship
09:09 Ruth’s Books
18:40 What is Birth?
24:17 Beauty
32:54 Psychoanalysis
41:23 Hope
48:10 A New Paradigm
56:30 Facing the Fear
59:47 Darkness and Light
1:07:04 Hope
1:09:16 Rebirth
1:11:09 Dreaming
1:12:43 Born again, and again
1:14:54 Not to be or to be?
1:16:32 Closing and opening

Join Seekers:
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https://instagram.com/seekersofunity
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Support Seekers:
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