16 Facts About Jonathan Israel

Jonathan Irvine Israel was born on 22 January 1946 and is a British historian specialising in Dutch history, the Age of Enlightenment, Spinoza's Philosophy and European Jews.

Jonathan Israel was previously Professor of Dutch History and Institutions at the University College London.

In recent years, Israel has focused his attention on a multi-volume history of the Age of Enlightenment.

Jonathan Israel attended Kilburn Grammar School, and like his school peer and future fellow historian Robert Wistrich went on to study History as an undergraduate at Queens' College, Cambridge, graduating with a first-class degree in Part II of the Tripos in 1967.

Jonathan Israel was named Sir James Knott Research Fellow at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne in 1970, and in 1972 he moved to the University of Hull where he was first an assistant lecturer then a lecturer in Early Modern Europe.

In January 2001, Jonathan Israel became a professor of modern European history in the School of Historical Studies at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, New Jersey.

Jonathan Israel has defined what he considers to be the "radical Enlightenment," arguing it originated with Spinoza.

Jonathan Israel is sharply critical of Jean-Paul Marat and Maximilien de Robespierre for repudiating the true values of the radical Enlightenment and grossly distorting the French Revolution.

Jonathan Israel contends that Israel's dichotomy oversimplifies the intricate intellectual landscape of the Enlightenment, failing to appreciate the subtleties and diverse perspectives of individual thinkers.

Jonathan Israel argues that Israel's methodology struggles to accommodate the intricate relationship between content and form, thought and representation, particularly in texts relevant to the remapping of the Enlightenment.

The author argues that Hume's approach to social and political issues, often considered conservative by Jonathan Israel, actually offers a different perspective on modernity.

Moyn challenges Jonathan Israel's approach, pointing out several limitations in his analysis.

Moyn critiques Jonathan Israel for excluding alternative perspectives and for lacking social depth in his explanations of historical events.

Moyn raises questions about Jonathan Israel's justification for the success of emancipatory values during the Enlightenment, suggesting that attributing their triumph to inherent truth is an insufficient historical explanation.

Jonathan Israel was made a Fellow of the British Academy in 1992, Corresponding Fellow of the Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen in 1994, won the American Historical Association's Leo Gershoy Award in 2001, and was made Knight of the Order of the Netherlands Lion in 2004.

In 2017 Jonathan Israel received the Comenius Prize by the Comenius Museum for his work on the Age of Enlightenment, Dutch history, and European Jewry and his ability to connect economic and intellectual history with the history of politics, religion, society, and science.