The Prophets as Sources of Philosophic Inquiry

Session Submission Type: Panel Session

Abstract

I am proposing a session entitled “The Prophets as Sources of Philosophic Inquiry.” The contributors will take up both moral and epistemological questions that arise from prophetic literature. These questions range from the standards for determining who is a true and who a false prophet, Jeremiah’s conception of the ideal life, and the claim that the prophets exaggerated the extent of Israel’s moral decline. The philosophers to be discussed include Plato, Maimonides, Kant, Cohen, Buber, and Heschel.

Sub Unit

• Medieval Jewish Philosophy

Chair

• Shira Weiss, Ben Gurion University

Individual Presentations

• The Prophets as Moral Idealists - Kenneth R. Seeskin, Northwestern University

• Determining Prophetic Authenticity: A Maimonidean Reading of False Prophecy - James A. Diamond, University of Waterloo

• The Highest Human Life: Jeremiah (9:22-23), Maimonides (Guide 3.54), and Plato (Euthyphro 13d-14c) - Roslyn Weiss, Lehigh University

Respondent

• Benjamin D. Sommer, The Jewish Theological Seminary