Jewish Thought in Dialogue

David Shatz (Ph.D. Columbia University) is Professor of Philosophy at Yeshiva University. He has authored, edited, co-edited twelve books, dealing with both Jewish and general philosophy. His books include Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook and Jewish Spirituality; Judaism, Science and Moral Responsibility; Peer Review: A Critical Inquiry; and three anthologies in philosophy of the religion. His work in general philosophy focuses on the theory of knowledge, free will, and the philosophy of religion, while his work in Jewish philosophy addresses a variety of areas, most represented in this volume. He is editor of The Torah u-Madda Journal, a publication devoted to the interaction between Jewish and general culture, and editor of a book series, thus far ten volumes, that produces previously unpublished manuscripts of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik. He earned his Ph.D with distinction in general philosophy from Columbia University and ordination from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary.

"A penetrating, keenly argued, profoundly wise, and often witty collection of essays by one of today's foremost Jewish philosophers."

• Sources and Credits. Introduction. ESSAYS IN INTERPRETATION: The Bible as a Source for Philosophical Reflection. Maimonides’ Moral Theory. Worship, Corporeality, and human perfection: A Reading of Guide of the Perplexed, III: 51-54. The Integration of Torah and Culture: Its Scope and Limits in the Thought of Rav Kook. Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook and the Ambiguities of “Openness”. Science and Religious Consciousness in the Thought of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik. THEOLOGY, METAPHYSICSAND ETHICS: Divine Intervention and Religious Sensibilities. From Anthropology to Metaphysics: David Hartman on Divine Intervention. Is Matter All That Matters? Judaism, Free Will, and the Genetic and Neuroscientific Revolutions. “From The Depths I Have Called To You”: Jewish Reflections on September 11th and 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. CONCLUDING REFLECTIONS ON RELIGIOUS BELIEF: The Overexamined Life Is Not Worth Living.