The Network for European Philosophy and the Jewish Tradition brings together international scholars from the fields of philosophy and Jewish studies to explore the encounters and intersections, but also the differences and mutual exclusions between European philosophy and the Jewish tradition. 

From antiquity and medieval times to the present, the Hebrew Bible and its commentaries, the Talmud, Rabbinic writings and the Kabbalah as well as works of modern Jewish thought are a rich well for inquiry and philosophical reflection. In turn, European philosophy is often associated with three dominant intellectual traditions – Greek thought, Christian faith, and secular Enlightenment. This classic triad tends to obscure other influences. Philosophers and historians of European philosophy have often failed to recognize the specifically Jewish influences on their field of study. Research in the context of the network seeks to investigate and map the commonalities, parallels, and lines of influence between the traditions of European thought and the Jewish tradition, focusing on the manifold encounters between them. 

The Network will organize a yearly international conference or workshop, virtual and in-person reading groups, and a bi-annual lecture that will alternately take place at one of our three Flemish host institutions – the Institute of Philosophy at KU Leuven, the Institute of Jewish Studies, and the Center for European Philosophy at the University of Antwerp. It will encourage and support similar events at other locations suggested by the network’s participants.

^{The network was opened with the inaugural lecture "What is Jewish Philosophy? Between the Particular and the Universal" by Prof. Moshe Halbertal, with welcoming words by rector Prof. Herman Van Goethem (University of Antwerp) and Prof. Vivian Liska (Institute of Jewish Studies, University of Antwerp), and reflections by Prof. Arthur Cools (University of Antwerp) and Ass. Prof. Willem Styfhals (KU Leuven).}