Jews, in Theory

Abstract

This chapter focuses on Jews, political reason, and the concept of the human and the Jew, discussing the varieties of representation that play a role in perception, consciousness, and rationality. In this context, the figure of the Jew is presented as a type in European discourse, conceptually unrelated to ancient Jewish self-understanding and instead emerging as a fiction made necessary by the logic of Christian self-understanding. The chapter then considers Carl Schmitt's representation of representation, replacing it with a notion of authority embodied in Talmudic discourse, which can be called refutation of refutation. The desired result is an iterative refinement of collective memory as locus of the reasoning process by which ideas are given shared value, with the goal of restoring openness and inventiveness to tradition and eliminating mechanical transmission.