•  22
  •  10
    On Constructing a Jewish Theodicy
    In 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
  •  79
    Free will and the structure of motivation
    Midwest Studies in Philosophy 10 (1): 451-82. 1985.
  • Should theists eschew theodicies?
    In Samuel Lebens, Dani Rabinowitz & Aaron Segal (eds.), Jewish Philosophy in an Analytic Age, Oxford University Press, Usa. 2019.
  •  6
    Definitions and Definability: Philosophical Perspectives
    with J. H. Fetzer and G. Schlesinger
    Springer. 1991.
  •  4
    Samuel Lebens. The Principles of Judaism
    Journal of Analytic Theology 10 723-729. 2022.
  •  14
    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
  •  14
    Reasons and Knowledge by Marshall Swain (review)
    Journal of Philosophy 80 (9): 542-554. 1983.
  •  6
    On Undermining the Beliefs of Others: Religion and the Ethics of Persuasion
    In Dov Schwartz & Avi Sagi (eds.), Faith: Jewish Perspectives, Academic Studies Press. pp. 137-187. 2019.
  •  20
    Free Will and the Structure of Motivation
    Midwest Studies in Philosophy 10 (1): 451-482. 1986.
  • Contemporary Philosophy of Religion
    Tijdschrift Voor Filosofie 47 (1): 146-147. 1985.
  •  5
    The essays in this volume present interpretations of themes in major Jewish texts and thinkers, as well as treatments of significant issues in Jewish theology and ethics. It offers 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 …Read more
  •  53
    This paper is a reply to James Keller 's criticisms of my Foundationalism, Coherentism and the Levels Gambit.Foundationalists have often claimed that, within a foundationalist framework, one can justify beliefs about epistemic principles in a mediate, empirical fashion, while escaping the charge of vicious circularity that is usually thought to afflict such methods of justification. In my original paper I attacked this foundationalist strategy; I argued that once mediate, empirical justification…Read more
  •  32
    The metaphysics of control
    Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 57 (4): 955-960. 1997.
  •  12
    Peer Review: A Critical Inquiry
    Rowman & 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
  •  61
    Freedom, Repentance and Hardening of the Hearts
    Faith 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
  •  36
    Questions 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
  •  5
    Review: Review Essay: The Metaphysics of Control (review)
    Philosophy and Phenomenological Research 57 (4). 1997.
  •  23
    Maimonides and Philosophy (review)
    International Studies in Philosophy 24 (1): 124-127. 1992.
  •  32
    Compatibilism, Values, and “Could Have Done Otherwise”
    Philosophical Topics 16 (1): 151-200. 1988.
  •  31
    Pyrrhonian Reflections on Knowledge and Justification (review)
    International Studies in Philosophy 32 (2): 141-142. 2000.
  •  22
    Freedom, Repentance and Hardening of the Hearts
    Faith 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
  •  41
    Hierarchical Theories of Freedom and the Hardening of Hearts
    Midwest Studies in Philosophy 21 (1): 202-224. 1997.
  •  36
    So What Else Is Neo? Theism and Epistemic Recalcitrance
    Midwest Studies in Philosophy 37 (1): 25-50. 2013.
  •  11
    Maimonides and Philosophy (review)
    International Studies in Philosophy 24 (1): 124-127. 1992.
  •  8
    Compatibilism, Values, and “Could Have Done Otherwise”
    Philosophical Topics 16 (1): 151-200. 1988.