Forgotten approaches to care: The human being as neighbour in the German-jewish tradition of the nineteenth century

Abstract

In searching for reasons why German academics have ignored the ethics of care, Elisabeth Conradi considers two earlier thinkers. The first, Hermann Cohen, regarded the active support of others as a certain type of awareness transcending national and religious affiliation. The second, Martin Buber, republished Cohen’s texts in 1935 and stressed the importance of attention and warmth in human relations. Against the theologian Gerhard Kittel’s grotesque misuse of Jewish ethics to justify National Socialist laws Conradi places neighbour love in the rabbinic interpretation, which emphasised physical assistance such as visiting and nursing the sick. In the nineteenth century, Jewish societies were formed to fulfil the duties of this biblical injunction. These societies, many of which were women’s associations, marked the transition from volunteer civil engagement to professional practice.