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27Review Essay: The Metaphysics of ControlThe Metaphysics of Free Will: An Essay on ControlPhilosophy and Phenomenological Research 57 (4): 955. 1997.
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13On Constructing a Jewish TheodicyIn Justin P. McBrayer & Daniel Howard‐Snyder (eds.), The Blackwell Companion to the Problem of Evil, Wiley. 2013.Jewish tradition presents a variety of theodicies. Job and some Talmudic passages apparently reject the notion that all suffering is punishment for sin, even though it is also taught, ostensibly to the contrary, that a sufferer should react by mending his or her ways. The tradition also allows a large enough scope to natural law to allow for a soul‐making theodicy, according to which suffering occurs naturally and the negative value of suffering is outweighed by the positive value of opportuniti…Read more
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Should theists eschew theodicies?In Samuel Lebens, Dani Rabinowitz & Aaron Segal (eds.), Jewish Philosophy in an Analytic Age, Oxford University Press, Usa. 2019.
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23Skepticism, Revisionary Metaphysics, and Why Epistemic Akrasia May Be Good for YouMidwest Studies in Philosophy 45 257-290. 2021.One of the most salient features of epistemology in the past two decades—in fact, perhaps the most salient—is the explosion of literature on how higher-order evidence impacts the rationality of one’s first-order beliefs. Higher-order evidence is, primarily, evidence about what one’s evidence supports. An important concept in the debate is epistemic akrasia. Roughly, the akrates believes: “p, but my evidence does not support p.” Criticisms of epistemic akrasia have focused on certain sorts of mun…Read more
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10On Undermining the Beliefs of Others: Religion and the Ethics of PersuasionIn Dov Schwartz & Avi Sagi (eds.), Faith: Jewish Perspectives, Academic Studies Press. pp. 137-187. 2019.
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28Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik and Western Culture: An Enigmatic DialogueCritical Inquiry 45 (2): 506-530. 2019.
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Knowledge, Reliability, and Justification: A Study of a Recent Development in the Theory of KnowledgeDissertation, Columbia University. 1977.
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21Peer Review: A Critical InquiryRowman & Littlefield Publishers. 2004.While much literature has sprouted on peer review, this is the first book-length, wide-ranging study that utilizes methods and resources of contemporary philosophy. It covers the tension between peer review and the liberal notion that truth emerges when ideas proliferate in the marketplace of ideas; arguments for and against blind review of submissions; the alleged conservatism of peer review; the anomalous nature of book reviewing; the status of non-peer-reviewed publications; and the future of…Read more
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67Freedom, Repentance and Hardening of the HeartsFaith and Philosophy 14 (4): 478-509. 1997.The doctrine that God hardens some agents’ hearts generates philosophical perplexities. Why would God deprive someone of free will and the opportunity to repent? Or is God’s interference compatible with the agent’s free will and his having an opportunity to repent? In this paper, I examine how two Jewish philosophers, Moses Maimonides and Joseph Albo, handled these questions. I analyze six approaches growing out of their writings and argue that a naturalistic interpretation of hardening --- as i…Read more
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40Questions about God: today's philosophers ponder the Divine (edited book)Oxford University Press. 1973.From young children, with their guileless, searching questions, to the recently bereaved, trying to make sense of tragic loss, humans wrestle with our relationship to God--and with God's essence, motivations, and power--throughout our lives: Why does God permit catastrophe and senseless tragedy, again and again? Is God's power limited in any way? Can He change the past? Does He know the future? Why does God require prayer? Why does He not provide stronger evidence of His presence? Whom does God …Read more
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10Review: Review Essay: The Metaphysics of Control (review)Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 57 (4). 1997.
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34Compatibilism, Values, and “Could Have Done Otherwise”Philosophical Topics 16 (1): 151-200. 1988.
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5The Overexamined Life Is Not Worth Living."In Thomas V. Morris (ed.), God and the Philosophers: The Reconciliation of Faith and Reason, Oxford Up. pp. 263--285. 1994.
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35Pyrrhonian Reflections on Knowledge and Justification (review)International Studies in Philosophy 32 (2): 141-142. 2000.
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25Freedom, Repentance and Hardening of the HeartsFaith and Philosophy 14 (4): 478-509. 1997.The doctrine that God hardens some agents’ hearts generates philosophical perplexities. Why would God deprive someone of free will and the opportunity to repent? Or is God’s interference compatible with the agent’s free will and his having an opportunity to repent? In this paper, I examine how two Jewish philosophers, Moses Maimonides and Joseph Albo, handled these questions. I analyze six approaches growing out of their writings and argue that a naturalistic interpretation of hardening --- as i…Read more
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44Hierarchical Theories of Freedom and the Hardening of HeartsMidwest Studies in Philosophy 21 (1): 202-224. 1997.
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41So What Else Is Neo? Theism and Epistemic RecalcitranceMidwest Studies in Philosophy 37 (1): 25-50. 2013.
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11Compatibilism, Values, and “Could Have Done Otherwise”Philosophical Topics 16 (1): 151-200. 1988.
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20Contemporary philosophy of religion (edited book)Oxford University Press. 1982.This collection of twenty-one essays brings together some of the finest recent contributions to philosophy of religion. Most of the selection appeared during the past decade and have not been reprinted previously. The author include many distinguished contemporary philosophers of religion, some sympathetic to religion, others sharply critical.
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58Is Peer Review Overrated?The Monist 79 (4): 536-563. 1996.Anyone who labors at academic scholarship knows vividly—perhaps even painfully—how dependent that enterprise is on a system of peer review. A scholar submits a work to a journal, press, or conference committee, or sends a proposal to a foundation; the submission is then evaluated by other professionals. The judgment of these referees determines whether the work is published by the target journal or press, appears on the conference program, or is funded by the desired institution. In many fields …Read more
Areas of Interest
Epistemology |
Philosophy of Religion |
Philosophy of Law |