Hermann Cohen: Judaism and Critical Idealism

Was Hermann Cohen a Jewish thinker or a German philosopher? Did he belong chiefly to the tradition of Jewish philosophy or instead to the classical tradition of critical idealism, of which Kant is the paradigmatic figure and fundamental reference point? Contemporary opinion of Cohen was marked by controversy. In Jewish circles, although he was respected and acknowledged as an authoritative voice, he was also criticized and accused of denying his Jewish identity. Meanwhile, his philosophical works, notwithstanding respectful attentions, were not always successful in the academic world, where he more than once encountered problems because of his Jewish origins. In this paper, I shall address the question of Cohen's status as a Jewish philosopher chiefly by examining Cohen's occasional texts on Jewish topics and contemporary controversies that affected the Jewish community in his day.