Causes and Controversies, 1914–1917

This chapter first covers Cohen’s writings during the First World War, when he wrote propaganda for the German cause. These years also mark the beginning of Cohen’s quarrel with the Zionists, especially Martin Buber. Cohen defended a cosmopolitan interpretation of Judaism, according to which it is not attached to any specific country but has a universal mission to serve mankind. He rejected therefore the ethnic and nationalist interpretation of Judaism of the Zionists. In 1916 Cohen and Paul Natorp became involved in a heated battle with Bruno Bauch, a proto-Nazi sympathizer who was the editor of Kant-Studien. The quarrel ended with Bauch’s resignation, though for decades thereafter nationalist sympathizers complained about the pro-Jewish bias of Kant-Studien. A final section examines Cohen’s dispute with Ernst Troeltsch about Judaism.