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Human Nature & Jewish Thought
"This concise and accessible exploration of personhood and its moral and spiritual implications will appeal to religious and secular thinkers." — Publishers Weekly This book explores one of the great questions of our time: How can we preserve our sense of what it means to be a person while at the same time accepting what science tells us to be true—namely, that human nature is continuous with the rest of nature? What, in other words, does it mean to be a person in a world of things? Alan Mittleman shows how the Jewish tradition provides rich ways of understanding human nature and personhood that preserve human dignity and distinction in a world of neuroscience, evolutionary biology, biot...
Between Kant and Kabbalah
Detective Dave and his crime-solving mother return to take on the religious establishment out West, as Mom traces the connection between a small-time preacher's murder, some shady real estate promoters, the High Episcopal Church, and assorted fanatics
Absurdity and Meaning in Contemporary Philosophy and Jewish Thought
There is a lively discussion in contemporary philosophy that explores the meaning of life or, more modestly, meaning in life. Philosophers, for the most part, assume that religion has little to contribute to this inquiry. They believe that the Western religions, such as Judaism, have doctrinaire beliefs which have become implausible and can no longer satisfy the search for meaning. In this book, Alan L. Mittleman argues that this view is misconceived. He offers a presentation of core Jewish beliefs by using classical and contemporary texts that address the question of the meaning of life in a philosophical spirit. That spirit includes profound self-questioning and self-criticism. Such beliefs are not doctrinaire: Jewish sources, such as the biblical Book of Ecclesiastes, are, in fact, open to an absurdist reading. Mittleman demonstrates that both philosophy and Judaism are prone to ineliminable doubts and perplexities. Far from pre-empting a conversation, they promote honest dialogue.
Holiness in Jewish Thought
This volume explores concepts of holiness in different periods of Jewish history and bodies of Jewish literature to offer preliminary reflections on their theological and philosophical import today.
The Concept of Emotions in Judaism, Christianity and Islam
The traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam place significant emphasis on the role of emotions. The key words of love and fear, hope and sorrow, joy and anger are prominent in their holy scriptures, and it can be argued that religions function practically through the medium of emotion. The question thus arises as to what precisely is meant by the term "emotions." The conceptualization of emotions within the context of the respective religions has undergone significant shifts throughout their respective histories. In particular, within mystical traditions, the discussion about emotion was intensified, as it was closely linked to divine experience and proximity. This volume presents an examination of the conceptualization of emotions in the three religions and their various currents, with an emphasis on identifying commonalities and differences between them.
A Short History of Jewish Ethics
A Short History of Jewish Ethics traces the development of Jewish moral concepts and ethical reflection from its Biblical roots to the present day. Offers an engaging and thoughtful account of Jewish ethics Brings together and discusses a broad range of historical sources covering two millennia of writings and conversations Combines current scholarship with original insights Written by a major internationally recognized scholar of Jewish philosophy and ethics
Does Judaism Condone Violence?
A philosophical case against religious violence We live in an age beset by religiously inspired violence. Terms such as “holy war” are the stock-in-trade of the evening news. But what is the relationship between holiness and violence? Can acts such as murder ever truly be described as holy? In Does Judaism Condone Violence?, Alan Mittleman offers a searching philosophical investigation of such questions in the Jewish tradition. Jewish texts feature episodes of divinely inspired violence, and the position of the Jews as God’s chosen people has been invoked to justify violent acts today. Are these justifications valid? Or does our understanding of the holy entail an ethic that argues aga...
Situating Strangeness: Exploring the Intersections between Bodies and Borders
This volume was first published by Inter-Disciplinary Press in 2016. Zygmunt Bauman, in his publication Liquid Modernity, described the meeting of strangers as a mismeeting – a brief encounter which had no past and the unlikely possibility of a future. This suggests a meeting which is free from expectation, but it also has the potential to fuel alienation and displacement. Being a stranger is not synonymous with distant geographies or borderlands, though it does include them: strangers and peculiar places can be found closer to home. Themes of alienation, strangeness and foreignness converge in the following accounts. The reader will migrate through unrecognisable narratives coming into contact with diasporic identities, stand-up comedians, English Language Educators, artists and photographers, to mention a few. These accounts are diverse but commonalities are tangled between webs of thought. Readers are invited to tug at the threads of this web, to find their own connections and chance upon unexpected revelations which come through picking the ends.
Moses among the Moderns
A historic lawgiver and founder of an ancient nation, Moses was powerful and pivotal in the imagination of modern Germany. The late eighteenth to early twentieth century was an intense period of religious controversy, especially on 'the Jewish question', with new models for understanding faith, science, and the past. This volume focuses on the identification of Jewish law, both Pentateuch and Talmud, with the figure of Moses to trace the fascinations and anxieties of the Bible in modern culture. Through diverse perspectives, it examines the representations and appropriations of Moses as a father of Judaism and framer of European civilization.
Jewish Ethics: The Basics
Jewish Ethics: The Basics demonstrates how ancient and contemporary ideas have shaped and reshaped Jewish traditions about how to act toward others. Readers are introduced to foundational questions, controversies, and diverse ethical conclusions developed by Jewish thinkers throughout the ages. Topics addressed include: • Assumptions about Authority • Love, Compassion, Justice and Humility • Human Rights, War, Land and Power • Gender and Sexuality • Personal and Social Ethics • Environmental and Animal Ethics • Bioethical Issues Concise, readable and engaging, this is the ideal introduction for anyone interested in religious ethics, secular traditions, Judaism, and the field of Jewish ethics.
