Tag Archives: Spinoza

Spinoza on the Couch

Posted on June 26, 2016 by N.S. Palmer

My latest blog post for The Jerusalem Post: I’ve spent a lot of my life dealing with crazy people, including myself. “Crazy,” of course, has various definitions, though it’s not the topic of this blog post. My favorite definition was … Continue reading →

Posted in Epistemology, Jewish Philosophy, Judaism, Philosophy, The Jerusalem Post | Tagged Descartes, Emotional Needs, Epistemic Justification, Maimonides, Psychological Needs, Psychology, Psychotherapy, Rationalism, Saadia, Spinoza | 2 Comments

Peace Depends on Truth

Posted on June 3, 2016 by N.S. Palmer

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 →

Posted in Jewish Philosophy, Judaism, Philosophy, The Jerusalem Post | Tagged Blanshard, Coherence, Correspondence, Maimonides, Spinoza, The Gods Must Be Crazy, Theories of Truth, Theory of truth, Tolerance, Truth | Leave a comment

Torah Parallels Are No Problem

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

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 | 1 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

What Must We Believe?

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

By N.S. Palmer Are certain beliefs required to be a Jew in good standing? Moses Maimonides says yes. Moses Mendelssohn says no. (And yes. And no. Mendelssohn was all over the map on that issue.) Among religious Jews, Maimonides is … Continue reading →

Posted in Epistemology, Jewish Philosophy, Judaism, Modern Orthodoxy, Philosophy, The Times of Israel | Tagged Beliefs, Guide of the Perplexed, Maimonides, Mendelssohn, Nature of Belief, Required Beliefs, Spinoza | 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

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 →