"The Star" for Beginners: Introductions to the Magnum Opus of Franz Rosenzweig

In "The Star of Redemption", written at the end and after World War I and published in 1921, Franz Rosenzweig presented an epoch-making Jewish-inspired philosophy of religion. In three steps, each with three chapters or "books," Rosenzweig unfolds in it his view of God, the world, and man, their interrelationship, and their contribution and role in the redemption of the world. In this introduction, young and old Rosenzweig scholars take readers by the hand chapter by chapter, book by book. They lead safely through Rosenzweig's argumentation, making sometimes difficult lines of thought comprehensible and plausible. The chapter introductions open up reliable access for interested readers and new perspectives for connoisseurs.

Martin Brasser (1961) is lecturer at University of Applied Sciences Lucerne and managing director at Philosophie+Management Ltd. He is the author of Lässt sich Gott denken? (2014) and the editor of Rosenzweig als Leser (2004/2013).

Petar Bojanic (1964, Belgrade) is Principal Research Fellow of the Institute for Philosophy and Social Theory, University of Belgrade (IFDT), and Director of the Center for Advanced Studies - Southeast Europe, University of Rijeka (CAS SEE). The author of numerous studies on the XX century Jewish political tradition. With Sona Goldblum, Bojanic edited a special issue of Les Cahiers philosophiques de Strasbourg "Franz Rosenzweig: politique, histoire, religion" (29/2011). His book Violence and Messianism has been translated into six languages.

Prof. Ciglia is full professor of Moral Philosophy at the Università Gabriele d'Annunzio of Chieti-Pescara. He is a member, at times with an executive role, of numerous Societies, Istitutions, Scientific Commitees, and Redactional Boards of national and international reviews (among which: Internationale Rosenzweig Gesellschaft, Istituto di Studi Filosofici Enrico Castelli, European Society for Moral Philosophy; Reviews: Archivio di Filosofia / Archives of Philosophy, Nuovo Giornale di Filosofia della Religione, Redazione Romana Filosofia e teologia), and author of 160 publications, of which seven are monographies, in different languages (Italian, French, English, German, Spanish and Portuguese). He is a specialist in figures and themes of philosophy of existence (L. Pareyson) and of 20th century Jewish thought (F. Rosenzweig; E. Levinas).