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30Review 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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26Skepticism, 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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11On 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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30Rabbi 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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8Review: Review Essay: The Metaphysics of Control (review)Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 57 (4). 1997.
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3Compatibilism, Values, and “Could Have Done Otherwise”Philosophical Topics 16 (1): 151-200. 1988.
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2The 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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5Pyrrhonian Reflections on Knowledge and Justification (review)International Studies in Philosophy 32 (2): 141-142. 2000.
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26Freedom, 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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4Hierarchical Theories of Freedom and the Hardening of HeartsMidwest Studies in Philosophy 21 (1): 202-224. 1997.
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7So 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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11Contemporary 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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8Is 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
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2The biblical and rabbinic background to medieval Jewish philosophyIn Daniel H. Frank & Oliver Leaman (eds.), The Cambridge companion to medieval Jewish philosophy, Cambridge University Press. pp. 16. 2003.
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2Maimonides' moral theoryIn Kenneth Seeskin (ed.), The Cambridge companion to Maimonides, Cambridge University Press. pp. 167. 2005.
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10Foundationalism, coherentism, and the levels gambitSynthese 55 (1). 1983.A central problem in epistemology concerns the justification of beliefs about epistemic principles, i.e., principles stating which kinds of beliefs are justified and which not. It is generally regarded as circular to justify such beliefs empirically. However, some recent defenders of foundationalism have argued that, within a foundationalist framework, one can justify beliefs about epistemic principles empirically without incurring the charge of vicious circularity. The key to this position is a…Read more
Areas of Interest
Epistemology |
Philosophy of Religion |
Philosophy of Law |