A space promoting rigorous philosophical analysis of any aspect of Judaism

Essay Prize 2018-2019 This year, the Association for the Philosophy of Judaism is running a special essay prize, on the theme of the Meaning of Life. The analytic tradition of philosophy has dedicated surprisingly little attention to the ultimate question...

APJ essay prize 2017 The Association for the Philosophy of Judaism is dedicated to encouraging new work in the philosophy of Judaism. Our annual APJ Essay Prize will be awarded to new work in the philosophy of Judaism. The winner...

We are pleased to announce that the winner of the 2016 APJ Essay Prize is Michael Haruni for his essay entitled “Praying and Truthfulness?”

The APJ is delighted to announce that our annual group session for 2025 will be held at the Eastern Division of the American Philosophical Association in New York City at the Sheraton Times Square on Wednesday, January 8, from 7:00...

The APJ is delighted to announce that our annual group session will be held at the Eastern Division of the American Philosophical Association on Tuesday evening, January 16, 2024, 7-10 pm at the Sheraton, New York Times Square. This year’s...

Rutgers Analytic Theology Seminar – CFP Deadline Oct 15, 2023. The Rutgers Analytic Theology Seminar solicits abstracts for papers in analytic theology, for a conference to be held March 10-12, 2024, at Rutgers University’s New Brunswick campus. Papers are welcome...

The APJ is holding a symposium on The People, the Torah, the God: A Neo-Traditional Jewish Theology (Academic Studies Press, 2023) by Jerome Gellman on November 3-8, 2024. The symposium is being held on this page. For the first three...

The APJ will be holding a symposium on The Principles of Judaism (OUP, 2020) by Samuel Lebens on 23–27 October 2022. The symposium will be held on this page. For comments on Chapter 1 by Filippo Casati (Lehigh University), please click...

In this article, I will argue against the Orthodox Jewish view that the Torah should be treated as an absolute authority. I begin with an explanation of what it means to treat something as an absolute authority. I then review examples of norms in the Torah that seem clearly immoral. Next, I explore reasons that people may have for accepting a person, text, or tradition as an absolute authority in general. I argue that none of these reasons can justify absolute authority if the authority prescribes norms that we strongly judge to be immoral. I then respond to three objections to my argument. I end with a note explaining why, contrary to a popular trend, the narrative of the binding of Isaac is not a good place to start this discussion.

As part of the John Templeton Foundation-sponsored project, entitled “Worship: A Jewish Philosophical Investigation,” we welcome abstracts for papers on the theme, “Worship and the Divine”. We are looking to receive abstracts (1) with relevance to the summer’s theme, (2) that...

Call for Abstracts 3rd Annual Theistic Ethics Workshop College of William and Mary October 5-7, 2017 Confirmed Speakers: Laura Ekstrom (College of William and Mary) Dan Moller (University of Maryland) Mark Murphy (Georgetown University) Mark Schroeder (University of Southern California)...

Special Issue on Talmudic Hermeneutics http://studiahumana.com/news,Special-Issue-on-Talmudic-Hermeneutics.html Studia Humana invites contributions to our workshop on “Philosophy and History of Talmudic Logic”. All accepted papers will be published electronically in Studia Humana as well as in a special volume of a book...