Tag Archives: Heschel

What Is Humanity?

Posted on July 1, 2019 by N.S. Palmer

Back in the 1960s, the great rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote Who Is Man? based on lectures he gave at Stanford University. But to ask “who is man?” assumes that we’ve’ previously answered the question “what is man?” If humans are … Continue reading →

Posted in Jewish Philosophy, Judaism, Life | Tagged Fukayama, Heschel, Human Dignity, Human life, Human Rights, Human worth, Identity, Justice, Materialism, Morality, Scientism, The other, What is man | Leave a comment

Morality Needs Both Logic and Feeling

Posted on November 17, 2016 by N.S. Palmer

My new blog post for The Jerusalem Post: As a child, I was a big “Star Trek” fan. I never wanted to be like Captain Kirk. The world was full of Kirk wannabes. My hero was Mr. Spock: stoic, brilliant, … Continue reading →

Posted in Jewish Philosophy, Judaism, Philosophy, The Jerusalem Post | Tagged Adam Smith, B.F. Skinner, Descartes' Error, Ethics, Feeling, Heschel, Hillel, Logic, Moral judgment, Morality, Mr. Spock, Psychology, Star Trek | 1 Comment

Ending the Violence, Part 1

Posted on December 19, 2015 by N.S. Palmer

My latest blog post for The Jerusalem Post: “The road to disaster is paved with pleasant illusions, and the way to deal with evil is not to ignore it,”1 advised Abraham Joshua Heschel. The English philosopher Francis Bacon wasn’t Jewish, … Continue reading →

Posted in Judaism, The Jerusalem Post | Tagged Aggression, Empathy, Evil, Evolutionary Psychology, Francis Bacon, Hatred, Heschel, Kin Selection, Racism, Sociobiology, Territoriality, Terrorism, Violence, War | Leave a comment

For Hanukkah, Free Yourself

Posted on December 6, 2015 by N.S. Palmer

My latest blog post for The Jerusalem Post: What’s the most important freedom? During Hanukkah, we celebrate religious freedom. That kind of freedom is vital. But it’s not the only kind, or even the most important. When modern people talk … Continue reading →