Tag Archives: Jewish Philosophy

Are We Free to Choose?

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

My latest blog post for The Jewish Journal: Do you have free will? That’s an easy question. Of course you do. Here’s a harder question: What is free will? That’s where most of us get into trouble. Common sense tells … Continue reading →

Prophetic Brains in a Vat

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

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 →

Posted in Epistemology, Jewish Philosophy, Judaism, Philosophy, The Jerusalem Post | Tagged Allegory of the Cave, Bible, Brain in a vat, Cosmic Microwave Background, Epistemology, Hilary Putnam, Jewish Philosophy, Maimonides, Plato, Saadia Gaon, The Republic | 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

Turning Around Spinoza’s Challenge

Posted on July 23, 2015 by N.S. Palmer

By N.S. Palmer Spinoza meant it as a taunt. But it might hold one of the keys to Jewish survival. Depending on where you sit, Baruch de Spinoza is either the founder of modern Jewish philosophy or Judaism’s deadliest critic. … Continue reading →

Posted in Jewish Philosophy, Judaism, Philosophy | Tagged Descartes, Jewish Philosophy, Judaism, Maimonides, Mendelssohn, Philosophy, Spinoza, Times of Israel | Leave a comment

Mendelssohn and Missionaries

Posted on July 15, 2015 by N.S. Palmer

By N.S. Palmer How should we as Jews respond to Christian missionaries? Many Jews see Christian evangelism as a threat. Even though staunch Christians are our strongest defenders, their motives are obvious. They believe that the return of Jews to … Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, Jewish Philosophy, Judaism | Tagged Christianity, Dying God Myth, Essenes, Hercules Oetaeus, Jewish Faith, Jewish Philosophy, Marcion of Sinope, Missionaries, Moses Mendelssohn, Seneca the Younger | 3 Comments

Is the Messiah Coming?

Posted on July 13, 2015 by N.S. Palmer

By N.S. Palmer Is the Jewish Messiah coming? Yes. But it’s complicated. Belief in a Messiah is central to the Jewish tradition. Maimonides listed it as a key principle of Judaism: “I believe with perfect faith in the coming of … Continue reading →

Posted in Jewish Philosophy, Judaism, Modern Orthodoxy | Tagged Aryeh Kaplan, Jewish Faith, Jewish Philosophy, Joseph Telushkin, Judaism, Maimonides, Messiah, Messianic Age, Moses Mendelssohn, Moshiach, Spinoza | Leave a comment

Is It Reason or Revelation?

Posted on July 11, 2015 by N.S. Palmer

By N.S. Palmer Apart from goofy statements made by individual philosophers, philosophy has a pretty good reputation. It uses logic, cites evidence, and presents comprehensible arguments that you can accept or reject on their merits. On the other hand, religious revelation has … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, Jewish Philosophy, Judaism, Philosophy | Tagged Bible, Boethius, Brettler, Consolation of Philosophy, Hazony, Jewish, Jewish Philosophy, Judaism, Parmenides, Philosophy, Pre-Socratics, Revelation, Tanach, Torah | Leave a comment

Is Jewish Philosophy Bad for the Jews?

Posted on July 10, 2015 by N.S. Palmer

By N. S. Palmer Is Jewish philosophy bad for the Jews? I think it has to do with apple pie. Whatever it has to do with, it’s not an idle question. Moses Mendelssohn, the 18th-century philosopher who led the Jewish … Continue reading →

Posted in Jewish Philosophy, Judaism, Modern Orthodoxy | Tagged Horeb, Jerusalem, Jewish assimilation, Jewish Philosophy, Judaism, Maimonides, Modern Orthodox Judaism, Moses Mendelssohn, Samson Raphael Hirsch | Leave a comment

Where You Stand Depends on Where You Start

Posted on July 9, 2015 by N.S. Palmer

By N.S. Palmer We like to think that we base our beliefs only on logic and evidence, but we don’t. Don’t worry. It’s not just you. Or me. Nobody does. If we start with different assumptions, we interpret evidence differently. Based on those different interpretations, … Continue reading →