Jacob Leib Talmon (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

: יעקב טלמון; June 14, 1916 – June 16, 1980) was Professor of Modern History at the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...

. He has been described as a 'Cold War liberal' because of the

anti-Marxism Criticism of Marxism (also known as Anti-Marxism) has come from various political ideologies and academic disciplines. This includes general intellectual criticism about dogmatism, a lack of internal consistency, criticism related to materiali ...

which permeates his main works. He studied the

genealogy Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kin ...

totalitarianism Totalitarianism is a form of government and a political system that prohibits all opposition parties, outlaws individual and group opposition to the state and its claims, and exercises an extremely high if not complete degree of control and regu ...

, arguing that political

Messianism Messianism is the belief in the advent of a messiah who acts as the savior of a group of people. Messianism originated as a Zoroastrianism religious belief and followed to Abrahamic religions, but other religions have messianism-related concepts ...

stemmed from the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

, and stressed the similarities between

Jacobinism A Jacobin (; ) was a member of the Jacobin Club, a revolutionary political movement that was the most famous political club during the French Revolution (1789–1799). The club got its name from meeting at the Dominican rue Saint-Honoré M ...

and

Stalinism Stalinism is the means of governing and Marxist-Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union from 1927 to 1953 by Joseph Stalin. It included the creation of a one-party totalitarian police state, rapid industrialization, the the ...

. He coined the terms "

totalitarian democracy Totalitarian democracy or anarcho-monarchism is a term popularized by Israeli historian Jacob Leib Talmon to refer to a system of government in which lawfully elected representatives maintain the integrity of a nation state whose citizens, whil ...

" and " Messianic democracy/ political Messianism".

Biography

Talmon was born in

Rypin Rypin (german: Rippin) is a town in north-central Poland, in Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, about 50 km east of Toruń. It is the capital of Rypin County. Population is 16,950 (2009). History Rypin was founded in the Middle Ages, ...

, a town in central Poland, into an

Orthodox Jewish Orthodox Judaism is the collective term for the traditionalist and theologically conservative branches of contemporary Judaism. Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding the Torah, both Written and Oral, as revealed by God to Moses on ...

family. He left in 1934 to study at the Hebrew University in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, then in the

British Mandate of Palestine British Mandate of Palestine or Palestine Mandate most often refers to: * Mandate for Palestine: a League of Nations mandate under which the British controlled an area which included Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan. * Mandatory P ...

, now

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. He continued his studies in France but left for London after the Nazi invasion; in 1943 he was awarded a

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * '' Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. al ...

from the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 milli ...

. His main works are ''The Origins of Totalitarian Democracy'' and ''Political Messianism: The Romantic Phase''. Talmon argued that

Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...

'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 Arnold Joseph Toynbee (; 14 April 1889 – 22 October 1975) was an English historian, a philosopher of history, an author of numerous books and a research professor of international history at the London School of Economics and King's Colleg ...

on the role of Jews and Zionism in history. Talmon died in

on June 16, 1980, two days after his 64th birthday.

Awards

In 1957, Talmon was awarded the

Israel Prize The Israel Prize ( he, פרס ישראל; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History The Israel Prize is awarded annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state cer ...

, for

social sciences Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of so ...

Major works

''The Origins of Totalitarian Democracy'', London: Secker & Warburg, vol. 1: 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
ref>The work was unpublished at the time of his death; ''The New York Times'', June 18, 1980, p. 38. * ''The Riddle of the Present and the Cunning of History'', 2000 (Hebrew, p.m.)

References

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 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Talmon, Jacob Talmon, J. L. Talmon, J. L. Talmon, J. L. Talmon, J. L. Talmon, J. L. Talmon, J. L. Israeli Ashkenazi Jews Israeli Orthodox Jews Talmon, J. L. Talmon, J. L. Talmon, J. L. Orthodox Jews in Mandatory Palestine Members of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities People from Rypin County Polish emigrants to Israel Polish Orthodox Jews 20th-century Israeli historians 20th-century political scientists

Biography

Awards

Major works

See also

References

External links