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Category Archives: The Jerusalem Post
Peace Depends on Truth
My latest blog post for The Jerusalem Post: Truth can be a matter of life and death. That’s no surprise, since it’s happened many times in history. But I want to make a much more difficult argument: A theory of … Continue reading
What You Admire, You Can Become
My latest blog post for The Jerusalem Post: Moses was a world-changing individual. We know that. But sometimes, we don’t appreciate how far his influence extends. I’ve been reading British historian Paul Johnson’s excellent A History of the Jews. His account … Continue reading
Posted in Bible, Jewish Philosophy, Judaism, Philosophy, The Jerusalem Post
Tagged Admiration, Brand Blanshard, Character, Heroes, History of the Jews, Moral Ideal, Moses, Paul Johnson, Torah
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Torah Parallels Are No Problem
My latest blog post for The Jerusalem Post: Were the Jews the first people to think of monotheism? And would it matter if we weren’t? Such questions tend to worry Biblical scholars when they start comparing our Torah with other … Continue reading
Posted in Bible, Jewish Philosophy, Judaism, Modern Orthodoxy, The Jerusalem Post
Tagged Atrahasis, Biblical Parallels, Blanshard, Gilgamesh, Maimonides, Moses Mendelssohn, Prophecy, Revelation, Saadia, Saadya, Spinoza, Torah
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The Jewish Roots of Modern Science
Must we choose between science and religious faith? Many people think so. On the scientific side, we find pop atheists such as Sam Harris, who believes that “religious faith is one of the most perverse misuses of intelligence we have … Continue reading
The Fifth Question
Are you the same person today as you were yesterday? If so, how do you know? And what does it even mean for you to be “the same person” as you were yesterday? Therein lies a tale. It leads us … Continue reading
Posted in Jewish Philosophy, Judaism, The Jerusalem Post
Tagged Judaism, Memory, Neuroscience, Passover, Personal Identity, Pesach, Seder, Soul
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Extensional Judaism
My latest blog post for The Jerusalem Post: What is an apple? And what does that have to do with Judaism? It has to do with definitions. There are two ways to define things: by intension and by extension. An … Continue reading
Prophetic Brains in a Vat
My latest blog post for The Jerusalem Post: “Brains in a vat”? It sounds like the plot of a bad science fiction movie. But it might hold a key to understanding prophetic insight. The basic idea was around even before … Continue reading
Putnam’s Predicament — And Ours
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
How to Think About Transgenderism
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
Could You Be Happier?
“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
The Thousand-Year View 