Jonathan Irvine Israel (born 22 January 1946) is a British historian specialising in

Dutch history The history of the Netherlands extends back before the founding of the modern Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1815 after the defeat of Napoleon. For thousands of years, people have been living together around the river deltas of this section of th ...

, the

Age of Enlightenment The Age of Enlightenment (also the Age of Reason and the Enlightenment) was a Europe, European Intellect, intellectual and Philosophy, philosophical movement active from the late 17th to early 19th century. Chiefly valuing knowledge gained th ...

, Spinoza's Philosophy and

European Jews The history of the Jews in Europe spans a period of over two thousand years. Jews, a Semitic people descending from the Judeans of Judea in the Southern Levant, Natural History 102:11 (November 1993): 12–19. began migrating to Europe just b ...

. Israel was appointed as Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the School of Historical Studies at the

Institute for Advanced Study The Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) is an independent center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry located in Princeton, New Jersey. It has served as the academic home of internationally preeminent scholars, including Albert Ein ...

Princeton, New Jersey The Municipality of Princeton is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey, Borough of Princeton and Pri ...

, in January 2001 and retired in July 2016. He was previously Professor of Dutch History and Institutions at the

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

. In recent years, Israel has focused his attention on a multi-volume history of the

. He contrasts two camps. The "radical Enlightenment" was founded on a rationalist materialism first articulated by

Spinoza Baruch (de) Spinoza (24 November 163221 February 1677), also known under his Latinized pen name Benedictus de Spinoza, was a philosopher of Portuguese-Jewish origin, who was born in the Dutch Republic. A forerunner of the Age of Enlightenmen ...

. Standing in opposition was a "moderate Enlightenment" which he sees as weakened by its belief in God.

Life

Israel's career until 2001 unfolded in British

academia An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

. He attended

Kilburn Grammar School Kilburn Grammar School was an English grammar school which opened in 1898 in Kilburn, north-west London. The school ceased to exist in 1967. History The school's history is detailed in a book by Richard E Brock. It was founded by the Rev. Dr. ...

, and like his school peer and future fellow historian

Robert Wistrich Robert Solomon Wistrich (April 7, 1945 – May 19, 2015) was a scholar of antisemitism, considered one of the world's foremost authorities on antisemitism. The Erich Neuberger Professor of European and Jewish history at the Hebrew Universi ...

went on to study History as an undergraduate at

Queens' College, Cambridge Queens' College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the 16 "old colleges" of the university, and was founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. Its buildings span the R ...

, graduating with a first-class degree in Part II of the Tripos in 1967. His graduate work took place at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

and the

El Colegio de México El Colegio de México, A.C. (commonly known as Colmex, English: The College of Mexico) is a Mexican institute of higher education, specializing in teaching and research in social sciences and humanities. The college was founded in 1940 by the Me ...

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

, leading to his D.Phil. from Oxford in 1972. He was named Sir James Knott Research Fellow at the

University of Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle University (legally the University of Newcastle upon Tyne) is a public university, public research university based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It has overseas campuses in Singapore and Malaysia. The university is a red brick un ...

in 1970, and in 1972 he moved to the

University of Hull The University of Hull is a public research university in Kingston upon Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1927 as University College Hull. The main university campus is located in Hull and is home to the Hu ...

where he was first an assistant lecturer then a lecturer in Early Modern Europe. In 1974 he became a lecturer in Early Modern European History at

, progressing to become a reader in Modern History in 1981, and then to Professor of Dutch History and Institutions in 1984. In January 2001, Israel became a professor of modern European history in the School of Historical Studies at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, New Jersey. In 2007, the 375th anniversary of the birth of Spinoza, he held the Spinoza Chair of Philosophy at the

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, ) is a public university, public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Established in 1632 by municipal authorities, it is the fourth-oldest academic institution in the Netherlan ...

Works

Israel has defined what he considers to be the "radical Enlightenment," arguing it originated with

. Israel is sharply critical of

Jean-Paul Marat Jean-Paul Marat (, , ; born Jean-Paul Mara; 24 May 1743 – 13 July 1793) was a French political theorist, physician, and scientist. A journalist and politician during the French Revolution, he was a vigorous defender of the ''sans-culottes ...

and

Maximilien de Robespierre Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (; ; 6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) was a French lawyer and statesman, widely recognised as one of the most influential and controversial figures of the French Revolution. Robespierre fer ...

for repudiating the true values of the radical Enlightenment and grossly distorting the French Revolution. He argues, "

Jacobin The Society of the Friends of the Constitution (), renamed the Society of the Jacobins, Friends of Freedom and Equality () after 1792 and commonly known as the Jacobin Club () or simply the Jacobins (; ), was the most influential political cl ...

ideology and culture under Robespierre was an obsessive

Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher ('' philosophe''), writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects ...

iste moral Puritanism steeped in authoritarianism, anti-intellectualism, and xenophobia, and it repudiated free expression, basic human rights, and democracy." Anthony J. La Vopa makes a comprehensive analysis of Jonathan Israel's interpretation of the Enlightenment. The analysis challenges Israel's binary classification of the Enlightenment into a cohesive "radical" faction and a purportedly disjointed "moderate" counterpart. He contends that Israel's dichotomy oversimplifies the intricate intellectual landscape of the Enlightenment, failing to appreciate the subtleties and diverse perspectives of individual thinkers. A central argument revolves around the idea that Israel's approach lacks the necessary nuance to capture the complexity of Enlightenment thought. He questions the validity of reducing the rich tapestry of ideas to a binary framework, arguing that this oversimplification neglects the diversity of intellectual currents within the Enlightenment. He highlights the inadequacy of Israel's method in dealing with the dense interplay of content and form, particularly in rhetorical practices and imaginative literature. He argues that Israel's methodology struggles to accommodate the intricate relationship between content and form, thought and representation, particularly in texts relevant to the remapping of the Enlightenment. He also challenges Israel's emphasis on a Spinozist, foundationalist rationalism as the singularly modern legacy of the Enlightenment. The author argues that Hume's approach to social and political issues, often considered conservative by Israel, actually offers a different perspective on modernity. Instead of embracing a rigid, systematic rationalism, Hume advocates for a more pragmatic and uncertain approach, which the author sees as a vital aspect of the Enlightenment's philosophical modernity. Anthony J. La Vopa cautions against accepting Israel's dichotomous classification, asserting that it imposes an artificial divide on the historical movement of the Enlightenment. By adhering to this binary framework, the opportunity to learn from the Enlightenment's efforts to explore human consciousness and expand spaces for human freedom is forfeited.

Samuel Moyn Samuel Aaron Moyn (born 1972) is the Chancellor Kent Professor of Law and History at Yale University, previously the Henry R. Luce Professor of Jurisprudence at Yale Law School and Professor of History at Yale University, which he joined in July ...

evaluates Jonathan Israel's perspective on the Enlightenment, focusing on Israel's assertion that Spinoza played a central and overlooked role in shaping the era. Moyn challenges Israel's approach, pointing out several limitations in his analysis. A primary criticism is Israel's oversimplification of the Enlightenment, reducing it to a binary classification between radical and moderate thinkers. Moyn argues that such a simplistic framework overlooks the diversity and complexity within the Enlightenment, where different intellectuals held diverse views and priorities. Moyn also critiques Israel for excluding alternative perspectives and for lacking social depth in his explanations of historical events. Moyn introduces Dan Edelstein's perspective, offering a contrasting view on Enlightenment ideas and their impact on the French Revolution. Moyn raises questions about Israel's justification for the success of emancipatory values during the Enlightenment, suggesting that attributing their triumph to inherent truth is an insufficient historical explanation. Moyn contends that Israel's insistence on a clear moral horizon for today's proponents of Radical Enlightenment is overly optimistic. Moyn argues that the Enlightenment's legacy is ambiguous and subject to various interpretations, cautioning against treating it as a monolithic, unchanging entity. A Marxist defense of Israel against

appeared in 2010 on the

World Socialist Web Site The World Socialist Web Site (WSWS) is the website of the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI). It describes itself as an "online newspaper of the international Trotskyist movement". About The WSWS was established on Fe ...

, particularly in the article, "The Nation, Jonathan Israel and the Enlightenment". The two defenders also criticize Israel, saying: :There are problems in his argument. The dichotomy between a radical and moderate Enlightenment, however suggestive and stimulating, tends at times to overly simplify complex and contradictory processes in the development of philosophical thought. It is not always the case, as Professor Israel seems to suggest, that the most significant advances in philosophical thought were made by individuals who held the most politically radical views. In 2004, in response to a Historisch Nieuwsblad survey, which asked members of the Royal Netherlands Historical Society what were the classic works about Dutch history, ''The Dutch Republic: Its Rise, Greatness and Fall, 1477–1806'' came in second place.

Honors and awards

He was made a Fellow of the

British Academy The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the sa ...

in 1992, Corresponding Fellow of the Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen (

Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (, KNAW) is an organization dedicated to the advancement of science and literature in the Netherlands. The academy is housed in the Trippenhuis in Amsterdam. In addition to various advisory a ...

) in 1994, won the

American Historical Association The American Historical Association (AHA) is the oldest professional association of historians in the United States and the largest such organization in the world, claiming over 10,000 members. Founded in 1884, AHA works to protect academic free ...

Leo Gershoy Award The Leo Gershoy Award is a book prize awarded by the American Historical Association for the best publication in English dealing with the history of Europe in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Endowed in 1975 by the Gershoy family and first ...

in 2001, and was made Knight of the

Order of the Netherlands Lion The Order of the Netherlands Lion, also known as the Order of the Lion of the Netherlands (, ) is a Dutch honours system, Dutch order of chivalry founded by William I of the Netherlands on 29 September 1815. The Order of the Netherlands Lion wa ...

in 2004. In 2008, he won the Dr A.H. Heineken Prize for history, medicine, environmental studies and cognitive science. In 2010 he was awarded the Benjamin Franklin Medal by the

Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...

(RSA) for his outstanding contribution to Enlightenment scholarship. In 2015 he was awarded the

PROSE Awards The PROSE Awards (where ''PROSE'' is an abbreviation for "professional and scholarly excellence") are presented by the Association of American Publishers' (AAP) Professional and Scholarly Publishing (PSP) Division. Presented since 1976, the awar ...

in European & World History by the

Association of American Publishers The Association of American Publishers (AAP) is the national trade association of the American book publishing industry. AAP lobbies for book, journal and education publishers in the United States. AAP members include most of the major commercial ...

(AAP) for professional and scholarly excellence. In 2017 Israel received the Comenius Prize by the Comenius Museum for his work on the Age of Enlightenment, Dutch history, and European Jewry and his ability to connect economic and intellectual history with the history of politics, religion, society, and science.

Bibliography

* HB. * HB; PB. * HB; PB. * PB. * HB. * (editor). HB; PB. * (co-editor) HB. * HB; PB. * HB. * HB; PB. * HB. * (co-editor) HB. * HB. * (co-editor) HB. * HB. * HB. * HB. * HB. * HB. * HB. * HB. * HB. (''Radical Enlightenment'' (2001), ''Enlightenment Contested'' (2006), and ''Democratic Enlightenment'' (2011) constitute a trilogy on the history of the Radical Enlightenment and the intellectual origins of modern democracy. ''A Revolution of the Mind'' (2009) is a shorter work on the same theme.)

References

External links