Cohen, Spinoza and the Nature of Pantheism

Hermann Cohen's understanding of pantheism is a major factor in his critique of Spinoza. This paper examines both Spinoza's view of pantheism and Cohen's claim that pantheism is mostly a Christian doctrine, essentially opposed to the Jewish tradition. Cohen states (for example) that Spinoza »grants pantheism priority over monotheism, in the spirit of Christ.« Assessing first Spinoza's writings on pantheism and then rabbinic stances on pantheism, I demonstrate that Cohen's claim that Judaism is opposed to pantheism receives little, if any, confirmation from historical reality and conclude that his analysis of Spinoza's pantheism has more to do with his negative feelings about the philosopher than with Spinoza's philosophy.