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La speranza come ideale moraleTeoria 27 (1): 83-97. 2007.This article discusses a respect in which modern thought differs from ancient: the role of hope. Although mentioned in ancient philosophy, hope is not a cardinal virtue, much less a presupposition of moral action. By contrast, hope takes center stage in the thought of Kant. Kant maintains that moral perfection is possible and always in the process of being realized but never actually comes to pass. No matter how much progress is made, there will always be something more to be accomplished. In th…Read more
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28Searching for a distant God: the legacy of MaimonidesOxford University Press. 2000.Monotheism is usually considered Judaism's greatest contribution to world culture, but it is far from clear what monotheism is. This work examines the notion that monotheism is not so much a claim about the number of God as a claim about the nature of God. Seeskin argues that the idea of a God who is separate from his creation and unique is not just an abstraction but a suitable basis for worship. He examines this conclusion in the contexts of prayer, creation, sabbath observance, repentance, re…Read more
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32Autonomy in Jewish philosophyCambridge University Press. 2001.Autonomy in Jewish Philosophy examines an important theme in Jewish thought from the Book of Genesis to the present day. Although it is customary to view Judaism as a legalistic faith leaving little room for free thought or individual expression, Kenneth Seeskin argues that this view is wrong. Where some see the essence of the religion as strict obedience to divine commands, Seeskin claims that God does not just command but forms a partnership with humans requiring the consent of both parties. L…Read more
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27Henry G. Wolz. Plato and Heidegger: In Search of Selfhood. Lewisburg, PA: Bucknell University Press, 1981. Pp. 311. $24.50. (review)Journal of the History of Philosophy 21 (4): 556-557. 1983.
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22Metaphysics and its transcendenceIn The Cambridge Companion to Maimonides, Cambridge University Press. pp. 82. 2005.
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3Jewish Messianic Thoughts in an Age of DespairCambridge University Press. 2012.Belief in the coming of a Messiah poses a genuine dilemma. From a Jewish perspective, the historical record is overwhelmingly against it. If, despite all the tragedies that have befallen the Jewish people, no legitimate Messiah has come forward, has the belief not been shown to be groundless? Yet for all the problems associated with messianism, the historical record also shows it is an idea with enormous staying power. The prayer book mentions it on page after page. The great Jewish philosophers…Read more
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27The Cambridge companion to Maimonides (edited book)Cambridge University Press. 2005.One aim of this series is to dispel the intimidation readers feel when faced with the work of difficult and challenging thinkers. Moses ben Maimon, also known as Maimonides (1138-1204), represents the high point of Jewish rationalism in the middle ages. He played a pivotal role in the transition of philosophy from the Islamic East to the Christian West. His greatest philosophical work, The Guide of the Perplexed, had a decisive impact on all subsequent Jewish thought and is still the subject of …Read more
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47Sanctity and SilenceAmerican Catholic Philosophical Quarterly 76 (1): 7-24. 2002.Maimonides’ negative theology has generated controversy ever since it was advanced in The Guide of the Perplexed. Unlike Aquinas,Maimonides does not allow predication by analogy or anything else that compromises the radical separation between God and creatures. The standard objection to Maimonides is that his view is so extreme that it undermines important features of religious life, most pointedly the institution of prayer. I argue that Maimonides was well aware of the problems caused by negati…Read more
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40Musings on the Meno, A New Translation with Commentary. By John E. Thomas. Martinus NijhotI: 1980. Pp. 222 + xi. (review)Ancient Philosophy 3 (2): 216-219. 1983.
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8Judaism and the idea of the futureIn Jonathan Jacobs (ed.), Judaic Sources and Western Thought: Jerusalem's Enduring Presence, Oxford University Press. pp. 49. 2011.
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50Dialogue and Discovery: A Study in Socratic MethodState University of New York Press. 1987.This book examines the Socratic method of elenchus, or refutation.
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16Poverty and Sincerity in the Apology: A Reply to LewisPhilosophy and Literature 16 (1): 128-133. 1992.
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228Maimonides' appropriation of Aristotle's ethicsIn Jon Miller (ed.), The Reception of Aristotle's Ethics, Cambridge University Press. 2012.
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7Jewish Philosophy in a Secular AgeSuny Press. 1990.An examination of Jewish philosophy in the modern age and in light of secular philosophy. Ch. 8 (pp. 189-211), "Fackenheim's Dilemma, " deals with Emil Fackenheim's philosophy concerning the Holocaust, and the place of God and Judaism in a post-Holocaust world. Expounds on his theology, his existential theories, and his attitude to Jewish history.
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2Hope as a Moral IdealTeoria 27 (1): 99-111. 2007.This article discusses a respect in which modern thought differs from ancient: the role of hope. Although mentioned in ancient philosophy, hope is not a cardinal virtue, much less a presupposition of moral action. By contrast, hope takes center stage in the thought of Kant. Kant maintains that moral perfection is possible and always in the process of being realized but never actually comes to pass. No matter how much progress is made, there will always be something more to be accomplished. In th…Read more
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64Sanctity and SilenceAmerican Catholic Philosophical Quarterly 76 (1): 7-24. 2002.Maimonides’ negative theology has generated controversy ever since it was advanced in The Guide of the Perplexed. Unlike Aquinas,Maimonides does not allow predication by analogy or anything else that compromises the radical separation between God and creatures. The standard objection to Maimonides is that his view is so extreme that it undermines important features of religious life, most pointedly the institution of prayer. I argue that Maimonides was well aware of the problems caused by negati…Read more
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25Maimonides on the Origin of the WorldCambridge University Press. 2005.Although Maimonides' discussion of creation is one of his greatest contributions - he himself claims that belief in creation is second in importance only to belief in God - there is still considerable debate on what that contribution was. Kenneth Seeskin takes a close look at the problems Maimonides faced and the sources from which he drew. He argues that Maimonides meant exactly what he said: the world was created by a free act of God so that the existence of everything other than God is contin…Read more
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What Maimonides can teach us about reading the BibleIn Charles Harry Manekin & Robert Eisen (eds.), Philosophers and the Jewish Bible, University Press of Maryland. 2008.
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19Strolling with Maimonides on the Via NegativaIn Jeanine Diller & Asa Kasher (eds.), Models of God and Alternative Ultimate Realities, Springer. pp. 793--799. 2013.
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Discutendo a proposito di ignoranza: Maimonide e Spinoza sulla contingenzaTeoria 26 (2): 313-333. 2006.In Book I of the Ethics, Spinoza rejects any explanation that uses the will of God to explain natural phenomena. In his paper Spinoza’s argument is discussed by looking at a specific example of the view he was criticizing: Maimonides’ account of particularity. We will see that in some ways, Spinoza is right. But we will also see that Maimonides’ argument is not as naïve as a reader of Spinoza might think and that Spinoza’s own position is not immune from Maimonides’ attack on metaphysical determ…Read more