Introduction

Part I dealt with the elements of reality from the perspective of science and philosophy, whose language is unspoken narrative, always situated in the past. Part II dealt with the courses or processes of reality from the perspective of literature and theology, whose language is a spoken dialogue, always situated in the present. Part III will deal with the unity of the courses of reality from the perspective of an anthropology (which Rosenzweig calls ‘sociology’) of communal ritual or liturgy, always pointing to the future. The philosophical-religious doctrine that marked the transition from the elements to the courses was what Rosenzweig called the miracle of creation; the theological-eschatological doctrine that marks the transition from the courses to their unity is the temptation of God.