7 min listen
Samuel Lebens: The Line Between Rationality and Mysticism [Rationality 3/5]
From18Forty Podcast
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Length:
64 minutes
Released:
Nov 30, 2021
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we talk to Samuel Lebens - philosophy professor and author - about the interaction of Judaism with analytic philosophy and mysticism.Samuel is an analytic philosopher, trained to analyze philosophical questions in a precise, almost mathematical framework. In his new book, The Principles of Judaism, he attempts to wed the foundations of Judaism to this framework, discussing the ways that one might formalize their Judaism on rational grounds.- How can one ground their Judaism in precise, rational terms?- How certain can one be of their Judaism?- What is the place of mysticism in a rational framework?Tune in to hear a conversation about Judaism and analytic philosophy.For more, visit https://18forty.org/rational/.References:The Principles of Judaism by Samuel Lebens https://www.amazon.com/Principles-Judaism-Studies-Analytic-Theology/dp/0198843259Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus by Ludwig Wittgenstein https://www.amazon.com/-/es/Ludwig-Wittgenstein/dp/0486404455/ref=pd_lpo_2?pd_rd_i=0486404455&psc=1The Nineteen Letters by Joseph Elias https://www.amazon.com/Nineteen-Letters-World-Rabbi-Hirsch/dp/0873066960Covenant and Conversation by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks https://www.amazon.com/Covenant-Conversation-Genesis-Book-Beginnings/dp/1592640206Two Dozen (or so) Arguments for God by Jerry Walls, Trent Dougherty https://www.amazon.com/Two-Dozen-Arguments-God-Plantinga/dp/0190842229Samuel is an associate professor in the philosophy department at the University of Haifa, as well as a rabbi and Jewish educator. Samuel holds a PhD in philosophy from Birkbeck College (University of London), and his academic interests cover the philosophy of religion, metaphysics, epistemology, and the philosophy of language. Samuel teaches at the Drisha Institute for Jewish Education and the Pardes Institute for Jewish Studies. Samuel’s most recent book, of several, is The Principles of Judaism, a strikingly sharp analysis of the fundamentals of the Jewish religion. Samuel’s first book was a study of Bertrand Russell’s dynamic theories about the nature of meaning.
Released:
Nov 30, 2021
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (100)
Talmud Conclusion: It’s hard to make sense and order within the Talmud. But maybe that’s the point. Listen to some brief closing thoughts on the value of building meaning specifically when it is not apparent. by 18Forty Podcast