Daniel Defoe will put Enlightenment thought to the test in his novel Robinson Crusoe. To help us explore the book, Rabbi Rocklin will answer the following questions:
- How does Robinson Crusoe develop a rational response to the question of how man should respond to suffering?
- Why do Crusoe's labors on his island occupy a central role in the narrative?
- In what sense can Crusoe's religious experience in the novel be considered Jewish-inspired?
Recommended Reading: Defoe, Daniel. Robinson Crusoe. 1719. Reprint, New York: Modern Library, 2001.