Category Archives: Jewish Philosophy

Putnam’s Predicament — And Ours

Posted on March 27, 2016 by N.S. Palmer

My latest blog post for The Jerusalem Post: “You can’t have your cake and eat it, too.” That was one of my father’s favorite adages, second only to “talk is cheap.” It means that if you eat your cake, you … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Epistemology, Jewish Philosophy, Judaism, The Jerusalem Post | Tagged Belief Justification, Epistemology, Ethics of Belief, Hilary Putnam, Jewish Faith, Kierkegaard, Moral Epistemology, Rationality, Religion and Science, Wittgenstein | 2 Comments

How to Think About Transgenderism

Posted on March 20, 2016 by N.S. Palmer

My new blog post for The Jerusalem Post: In a scene from an old Monty Python movie, a mother has just given birth. She asks the doctor, “Is it a boy or a girl?” He replies, “I think it’s a … Continue reading →

Posted in Jewish Philosophy, Judaism, The Jerusalem Post | Tagged Differences between male and female, Neuroscience, Psychology, Saadia Gaon, Sex change, TG, Transgender, Transgenderism, Transsexual | Leave a comment

Could You Be Happier?

Posted on March 13, 2016 by N.S. Palmer

“I could be happier.” How many of us have occasionally thought that? While driving to work the other day, I did. And then I realized it’s not true. I’ve done a few things of which I’m proud. There is more … Continue reading →

Posted in Jewish Philosophy, Judaism, The Jerusalem Post | Tagged A worthy goal, Abraham Joshua Heschel, Eudaemonia, Happiness, Harriet Taylor Mill, How to be happy, Importance of purpose, John Stuart Mill, Meaning of life, Menachem Mendel Schneerson | Leave a comment

How Medieval Islam Influenced Modern Judaism

Posted on March 7, 2016 by N.S. Palmer

My latest blog post for The Jerusalem Post: In the modern era, we associate Islam mainly with terrorism, barbarism, and opposition to science. But it was not always so. Long ago, our early encounters with Islam influenced the development of … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Epistemology, Jewish Philosophy, Modern Orthodoxy, Philosophy, The Jerusalem Post | Tagged Arabic Philosophy, Falsafa, Islamic Theology, Jewish Philosophy, Kalam, Maimonides, Menachem Kellner, Philo, Saadia, Saadya, Yoram Hazony | Leave a comment

Knowing What Time It Is

Posted on February 21, 2016 by N.S. Palmer

My latest blog post for The Jerusalem Post: Do you know what time it is? If I asked you that question, there are two logical answers and many non-logical answers. If you know what time it is, then the logical … Continue reading →

Posted in Epistemology, Jewish Philosophy, Judaism, Philosophy, The Jerusalem Post | Tagged Belief, Enlightenment philosophy, Epistemology, Ethics of Belief, Halacha, Jewish Philosophy, Moses Mendelssohn, Sociology of Belief, speech acts, Theory of meaning, Theory of truth | Leave a comment

Will Judaism Disintegrate?

Posted on February 14, 2016 by N.S. Palmer

My new blog post for The Jerusalem Post: A popular California rabbi’s forecast seems gloomy until you think about it. Then you realize it’s absolutely catastrophic. He says that Judaism is: “… a platform [that] rests on a mountain of dynamite. … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Jewish Philosophy, Judaism, Modern Orthodoxy, The Jerusalem Post | Tagged Authority, Autonomy, Eliyahu Fink, Fink or Swim, Halacha, Hedonism, Jewish tradition, Maimonides, Millennials, Modern Orthodoxy, Moses Mendelssohn, Nihilism, Open Orthodoxy, Saadia Gaon, Spinoza, Zeitgeist | 22 Comments

Absolutely Relatively True

Posted on February 8, 2016 by N.S. Palmer

My new blog post for The Jerusalem Post: “Absolute truth.” People like that phrase. It sounds serious. It shows they are committed. No weasel words. No equivocation. They said something, they mean it, and it’s absolutely true. Menachem Kellner, a … Continue reading →

Posted in Epistemology, Jewish Philosophy, Judaism, Philosophy, The Jerusalem Post | Tagged Absolute Truth, Dogma, Menachem Kellner, Modern Orthodox Judaism, Samson Raphael Hirsch, Theory of truth, Truth | 1 Comment

Is Kabbalah Rational After All?

Posted on January 31, 2016 by N.S. Palmer

My latest blog post for The Jerusalem Post: “Whereof we cannot speak, about that we must remain silent,”1 advised the Austrian Jewish philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein. People are never very good at remaining silent. That’s true even for things we can’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Jewish Philosophy, Judaism, Philosophy, The Jerusalem Post | Tagged Arthur Green, Aryeh Kaplan, Bahir, Bosanquet, Conceptual Idealism, Ehyeh, Idealism, Jewish Mysticism, Kabbalah, Mysticism, Nicholas Rescher, Sefer Yetzirah, Sefirot, Wittgenstein, Yoram Hazony | Leave a comment

Myth and Its Meanings

Posted on January 23, 2016 by N.S. Palmer

My latest blog post for The Jerusalem Post: Biblical creationists get a bad rap. People think they’re completely wrong. But they’re not. Oh, sure, they’re wrong about the science. The world wasn’t created in 4,004 BCE on October 23, as … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Jewish Philosophy, Judaism, The Jerusalem Post | Tagged Asimov, Atrahasis, Biblical Flood, Creationism, D. Jason Slone, Flood Epic, Flood legends, Gary Rendsburg, Genesis, Genesis Flood, Gilgamesh, John Gardner, Myth, Nahum Sarna, Noah, Theological Incorrectness | 1 Comment

Creation But Not Ex Nihilo

Posted on January 16, 2016 by N.S. Palmer

My latest blog post for The Jerusalem Post: How did the world get here? That question didn’t start with the ancient Israelites and it probably won’t end with us. Our scientific attempts to explain the origin of the universe are … Continue reading →