Hans Jonas (1903-1993) was one of the most original, insightful, prescient Jewish thinkers of the 20th century. He was a student of Martin Heidegger, but like other German-Jewish intellectuals had to flee Germany with the rise of Nazism. He migrated to Palestine in 1933 and fought in WW II in the Jewish Brigade of the British Army (1943-1945) and then in the War of Independence (1948) of the nascent State of Israel. His combat experience changed his outlook on life: from a historian of ancient religions, especially Gnosticism, he shifted his interest to philosophy of nature and bioethics, extending his existential philosophy and phenomenological analysis to include all forms of life. Unique among 20th-century Jewish philosophers, Jonas argued for the possibility of a genuinely symbiotic relationship between humanity and nature, which he believed had been suppressed by modern technology. On the basis of Jewish religious sources he spoke against the human domination of nature and he was among the first to articulate the ethical challenges that modern technology poses to humanity. He was critical of genetic engineering and cloning because he believed that life itself has the capacity for moral responsibility. Jonas was one of a handful of Jewish philosophers who systematically incorporated evolutionary biology into his philosophical and ethical reflections
On Nov. 5-7, 2005 an international research conference entitled "Judaism and the Phenomenon of Life: The Legacy of Hans Jonas" took place at ASU. Dr. Hava Tirosh-Samuelson (Department of History) organized the conference under the auspices of the Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict. The John Templeton Foundation supported the conference with an external grant, and the Grossman Chair of Jewish Studies, the Department of Religious Studies, the Department of History, the International Institute for Sustainability,the College of Law,the Jewish Studies Program,the Department of Philosophy, and the Center for Biology and Society provided additional resources. The conference brought some of Jonas' students, historians of German Jewry, theologians, philosophers of biology, environmental philosophers, and Judaic scholars to reflect on the significance of Jonas legacy for the challenges that face us in the 21st century. This inter-disciplinary conference was part of the ASU's commitment to the dialogue of science and religion which includes a faculty-seminar "Being Human: Science, Religion, Technology, and Law" also held under the auspices of the Center for the Study of Religion and Conflict. The two-day conference involved discussions of pre-distributed papers and a public lecture delivered by Prof. Richard Wolin.
Dr. Tirosh-Samuelson has since received a $3000 supplementary grant from the Templeton Foundation to facilitate the publication of the book, Judaism and the Phenomenon of Life: The Legacy of Hans Jonas; Historical and Philosophical Studies to be published by Brill Academic Publishers in 2007.
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