Jacob Leib Talmon (; June 14, 1916 – June 16, 1980) was Professor of Modern History at the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public university, public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. ...

. He studied the

genealogy Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kin ...

totalitarianism Totalitarianism is a political system and a form of government that prohibits opposition from political parties, disregards and outlaws the political claims of individual and group opposition to the state, and completely controls the public s ...

, arguing that political

Messianism Messianism is the belief in the advent of a messiah who acts as the savior of a group of people. Some religions also have messianism-related concepts. Religions with a messiah concept include Hinduism (Kalki), Judaism ( Mashiach), Christianity ( ...

stemmed from the French Revolution, and stressed the similarities between

Jacobinism A Jacobin (; ) was a member of the Jacobin Club, a revolutionary political movement that was the most famous political club during the French Revolution (1789–1799). The club got its name from meeting at the Dominican rue Saint-Honoré ...

and

Stalinism Stalinism (, ) is the Totalitarianism, totalitarian means of governing and Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union (USSR) from History of the Soviet Union (1927–1953), 1927 to 1953 by dictator Jose ...

. He coined the terms " totalitarian democracy" and " Messianic democracy/ political Messianism".

Biography

Talmon was born in

Rypin Rypin is a town in north-central Poland, in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, about 50 km east of Toruń. It is the capital of Rypin County. Population is 16,528 (2010). History Rypin was founded in the Middle Ages, and was part of Poland ...

, a town in central Poland, into an

Orthodox Jewish Orthodox Judaism is a collective term for the traditionalist branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as literally revealed by God on Mount Sinai and faithfully tra ...

family. He left in 1934 to study at the Hebrew University in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

, then in the British Mandate of Palestine, now

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. He continued his studies in France but left for London after the Nazi invasion; in 1943 he was awarded a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

from the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

. His main works are ''The Origins of Totalitarian Democracy'' and ''Political Messianism: The Romantic Phase''. Talmon argued that

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 ...

's position may best be understood as "totalitarian democracy", a philosophy in which liberty is realized "only in the pursuit and attainment of an absolute collective purpose." Following the 1967 Six-Day War, Talmon engaged in a debate with

Arnold J. Toynbee Arnold Joseph Toynbee (; 14 April 1889 – 22 October 1975) was an English historian, a philosopher of history, an author of numerous books and a research professor of international history at the London School of Economics and King's Coll ...

on the role of Jews and Zionism in history. Talmon died in

on June 16, 1980, two days after his 64th birthday.

Awards

In 1957, Talmon was awarded the

Israel Prize The Israel Prize (; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History Prior to the Israel Prize, the most significant award in the arts was the Dizengoff Prize and in Israel ...

for

social sciences Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of society, societies and the Social relation, relationships among members within those societies. The term was former ...

Major works

* ; vol. 2: 1960 * ''The Nature of Jewish History-Its Universal Significance'', 1957
''Political Messianism – The Romantic Phase'', 1960
* ''The Unique and The Universal'', 1965
''Romanticism and Revolt'', 1967
* ''Israel among the Nations'', 1968 * ''The Age of Violence'', 1974
''The Myth of Nation and Vision of Revolution – The Origins of Ideological Polarization in the 20th Century'', 1981
ref>The work was unpublished at the time of his death; ''The New York Times'', June 18, 1980, p. 38. * ''The Riddle of the Present and the Cunning of History'', 2000 (Hebrew, p.m.)

References

External links

Two Statements on the Mid-East War
1973 * Arie Dubnov,
A tale of trees and crooked timbers: Jacob Talmon and Isaiah Berlin on the question of Jewish Nationalism
, History of European Ideas, Vol. 34, No. 2 * Arie Dubnov,
Priest or Jester? Jacob L. Talmon (1916-1980) on History and Intellectual engagement (Introduction essay)
, History of European Ideas, Vol. 34, No. 2 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Talmon, Jacob Talmon, J. L. Talmon, J. L. Talmon, J. L. Talmon, J. L. Critics of atheism Critics of Marxism Historians of the French Revolution Historians of Russia Israeli anti-communists Talmon, J. L. Israeli Ashkenazi Jews Israeli Orthodox Jews Talmon, J. L. Jewish anti-communists Jewish economists Talmon, J. L. Talmon, J. L. Orthodox Jews in Mandatory Palestine Members of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities Writers on Zionism People from Rypin Polish emigrants to Israel Polish Orthodox Jews 20th-century Israeli historians 20th-century political scientists Burials at Har HaMenuchot Critics of Freemasonry

Biography

Awards

Major works

See also

References

External links