Description
Book SynopsisIn this carefully crafted collection of essays, "Jewish Thought in Dialogue" offers creative interpretations of major Jewish texts and as well as original treatments of significant issues in Jewish theology and ethics. The collection includes philosophical readings of biblical narratives, analyses of topics in the thought of Maimonides, Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook and Rabbi Joseph B Soloveitchik, and critical and constructive examinations of divine providence, religious anthropology, free will, 9/11, evil, Halakhah and morality, altruism, autonomy in Jewish medical ethics, and the epistemology of religious belief. The author frequently brings Jewish philosophy and law into dialogue with contemporary Anglo-American philosophy.
Trade Review"David Shatz is an excellent analytic philosopher who has also written extensively on Jewish philosophy. His articles do not merely contribute to understanding Jewish thinkers and thought. They also serve to broaden the philosophy of religion, making important issues and thinkers accessible and relevant to scholars working in other traditions. The essays will enhance scholarly appreciation of the philosophical dimensions of religious law, in a field that largely ignores or marginalizes law's role in religion. This collection is particularly welcome and will contribute valuably to a broader discussion." -- Wayne Proudfoot, Professor of Religion, Columbia University
Table of ContentsThe Bible As a Source of Philosophical Reflection; Maimonides' Moral Theory; Worship, Corporeality & Human Perfection : A Reading of Guide of the Perplexed III:51-54; The Integration of Torah & Culture: Its Scope & Limits in The Thought of Rav Kook; Is Rav Kook A Model of 'Openness'?; Science & Religious Consciousness in the Thought of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik; Divine Intervention & Religious Sensibilities; From Anthropology to Metaphysics: David Hartman on Divine Intervention; Is Matter All That Matters?: Judaism, Free Will & the Genetic & Neuroscientific Revolutions; "From the Depths I Have Called to You": Jewish Reflections on September 11th & Contemporary Terrorism; Does Jewish Law Express Jewish Philosophy? : The Curious Case of Theodicies; Beyond Obedience: The Ethical Theory of Rabbi Walter Wurzburger; "As Thyself": The Limits of Altruism in Jewish Ethics; Concepts of Autonomy in Jewish Medical Ethics; The Over-examined Life is Not Worth Living.
