Jacob Talmon

Jacob Leib Talmon
Jacob Leib Talmon
יעקב טלמון
Born	14 June 1916; Rypin, Poland
Died	16 June 1980 (aged 64); Israel
Nationality	Israel
Occupation	Historian
Awards	Israel Prize (1957);

Jacob Leib Talmon (Hebrew: יעקב טלמון; June 14, 1916 – June 16, 1980) was Professor of Modern History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

He studied the genealogy of totalitarianism, arguing that political Messianism stemmed from the French Revolution, and stressed the similarities between Jacobinism and Stalinism. He coined the terms "totalitarian democracy" and "Messianic democracy/political Messianism".

Biography

Talmon was born in Rypin, a town in central Poland, into an Orthodox Jewish family. He left in 1934 to study at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, then in the British Mandate of Palestine, now Israel. He continued his studies in France but left for London after the Nazi invasion; in 1943 he was awarded a PhD from the London School of Economics. His main works are The Origins of Totalitarian Democracy and Political Messianism: The Romantic Phase. Talmon argued that Rousseau'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 on the role of Jews and Zionism in history.^[1]

Talmon died in Jerusalem on June 16, 1980, two days after his 64th birthday.^[2]

Awards

In 1957, Talmon was awarded the Israel Prize for social sciences.^[3]

Major works

The Origins of Totalitarian Democracy. Vol. 1. London: Secker & Warburg. 1952.; 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^[4]
The Riddle of the Present and the Cunning of History, 2000 (Hebrew, p.m.)

References

^ Hedva Ben-Israel, "Debates With Toynbee: Herzog, Talmon, Friedman," Israel Studies (Spring 2006), pp. 83ff; and two newspaper reports in Hebrew: Jacob Talmon, "Arnold Toynbee and His Relationship to the Jews," Haaretz, Sept. 5, 1956 and "The Exchange of Letters Between Professor Arnold Toynbee and Professor Y. Talmon following the Six-Day War," Maariv, Aug. 4, 1967.
^ Shipler, David K. (June 18, 1980). "J.L. Talmon is dead; an Israeli historian; Hebrew University Professor Was Author of Books on Evolution of Totalitarian Systems Threat of 'Racial War' Seen". New York Times. p. 38.
^ "Israel Prize Official Site - Recipients in 1956 (in Hebrew)".
^ The work was unpublished at the time of his death; The New York Times, June 18, 1980, p. 38.

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
Works by or about Jacob Talmon at the Internet Archive

[1] Hedva Ben-Israel, "Debates With Toynbee: Herzog, Talmon, Friedman," Israel Studies (Spring 2006), pp. 83ff; and two newspaper reports in Hebrew: Jacob Talmon, "Arnold Toynbee and His Relationship to the Jews," Haaretz, Sept. 5, 1956 and "The Exchange of Letters Between Professor Arnold Toynbee and Professor Y. Talmon following the Six-Day War," Maariv, Aug. 4, 1967.

[2] Shipler, David K. (June 18, 1980). "J.L. Talmon is dead; an Israeli historian; Hebrew University Professor Was Author of Books on Evolution of Totalitarian Systems Threat of 'Racial War' Seen". New York Times. p. 38.

[prize-3] "Israel Prize Official Site - Recipients in 1956 (in Hebrew)".

[4] The work was unpublished at the time of his death; The New York Times, June 18, 1980, p. 38.

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