Philosophy

Observation · June 29, 2022
How Jews Came Under Socrates’s Spell
By Alexander Orwin
An impressive new book explores how a community rooted in faith and law has grappled with the preeminent classical rationalist.
Observation · October 11, 2019
A Radical 18th-Century Jewish Philosopher and His Misbegotten Quest for Total Truth
By Michah Gottlieb
Solomon Maimon abandoned his wife and children in search of intellectual perfection, thereby entirely missing the point.
Observation · February 8, 2018
How Religious Belief Can Play a Role in Politics
By Isaac Inkeles
A noted philosopher's critique of one of liberalism's most treasured theories clears room for a conception of politics informed by Judaism.
Response · February 16, 2017
“Is the Torah a Work of Philosophy?” An Exchange
By Kenneth R. Seeskin, Jon D. Levenson
Kenneth R. Seeskin and Jon D. Levenson debate the power and the limits of philosophical reflection on the Hebrew Bible.
Response · January 23, 2017
The Difference between a Biblical Scholar and a Philosopher
By James A. Diamond
The former seeks answers; the latter seeks the questions that can help situate human beings existentially and rationally within the universe.
Response · January 16, 2017
Does the Bible Contradict Itself? Very Well Then, It Contradicts Itself
By R. R. Reno
Like Walt Whitman in Song of Myself, the Hebrew Bible is large, it contains multitudes.
Monthly Essay · January 3, 2017
Is the Torah a Work of Philosophy?
By Jon D. Levenson
As the latest attempt to draw universal ethical principles from the Bible shows, philosophical investigation of its text offers the prospect of great rewards—and grave dangers.
Observation · September 1, 2016
The Tides of David Gelernter’s Mind
By Moshe Koppel
A dazzling new book reminds us that our minds don't work like computers—and that wisdom, including the moral wisdom of Judaism, doesn't progress like science.