Philosophy, Vanderbilt

Crosspolinations:
Philosophically Fruitful Interactions
between Jewish and Islamic Philosophy

Dr. Goodman’s lecture will focus on three thoughts that passed from Biblical and Qur’anic scripture and Greek philosophical dialogues, treatises, and commentaries to Muslim and Jewish philosophers: (1) that the seemingly ineffable content of religious experience can be articulated through symbols and so made a social reality, as imagery, ritual, myth and law; (2) the idea that since man is made in the image of God, people can learn about God by studying humanity; and (3) the belief that God executes justice in history by visiting upon us the consequences of our actions, individually and communally.

As a philosopher and scholar of Jewish and Islamic philosophy, Lenn E. Goodman is the author of twelve books and over 100 articles, chapters and reviews. Goodman is a graduate of Harvard University and received his doctorate from Oxford University, where he was a Marshall scholar. Before coming to Vanderbilt in 1994, Goodman taught philosophy at the University of Hawaii for 25 years.