Principles of Talmudic Logic


Book Description

This book puts forward new logical systems suitable for modelling Talmudic and Biblical reasoning and argumentation. The Talmud is very logical. It is said that when God gave Moses the Ten Commandments, He also gave him additional laws and rules of logic to enable human beings to derive more laws. Together with colleagues the authors have already written 8 books on the logic of the Talmud and the project will involve 15-20 volumes. The authors have discovered principles which can be exported to current research in scientific communities, as well as human common sense reasoning and laws as tackled by religious thinking. Topics in this book include: 1 Non-deductive Inference in the Talmud: The book includes a new topological matrix method for analogical reasoning, completely new to existing AI methods which rely on metric distances. 2 The Textual Inference Rules Klal uPrat. How the Bible Defines Sets: Traditional set theoretic methods for defining sets are either by enumeration of its elements or by a predicate formula. The biblical way is a common sense combination of the two, approximating the set from above and from below by predicates, supplemented by a small number of typical members of the set. 3 Talmudic Deontic Logic: The Talmud has its own Deontic Logic, free of the traditional paradoxes. 4 Temporal Logic in the Talmud: The Talmud allows for special conditionals with antecedents depending on the future and consequents valid in the present. This new type of logic allows for backwards causality and connects with aspects of Quantum Logic. 5 Resolution of Conflicts and Normative Loops in the Talmud: The book deals with Talmudic loop checking methods that can be widely applied to handling loops in AI and logic. 6 Delegation and Representation in Talmudic Logic: Talmudic systems of delegation are innovative and apply to modern day to day computer delegation and access control. This book is of great interest to researchers in AI and Law, in Argumentation theory, and in Pure and Applied logical systems, as well as students of Talmudic reasoning and debate.




The Great Principle of the Torah


Book Description

What are the "meta-values" of Judaism? Jewish tradition is rich with analysis of every topic imaginable, from major philosophical issues like belief in God and questions of good and evil, to detailed analyses about the finer points of Jewish practice. However it sometimes goes unnoticed that many Rabbis of the Talmud and Midrash have sought to explore how those sets of practices and beliefs cohere into a whole as a unit. The Great Principle of the Torah comes to analyze several of those claims and how the traditional and modern commentators interpreted those positions. This volume explores how those values interconnect, as well as their points of divergence. It is the ideal book for someone who is looking for a big picture perspective on what Judaism represents, as well as seeking to understand the rich diversity of opinion within the authentic Jewish tradition.




Talmudic Thinking


Book Description




Judaic Logic


Book Description

Judaic logic: A Formal Analysis of Biblical, Talmudic and Rabbinic Logic is an original inquiry into the forms of thought determining Jewish law and belief, from the impartial perspective of a logician. Judaic Logic attempts to honestly estimate the extent to which the logic employed within Judaism fits into the general norms, and whether it has any contributions to make to them.




The Jewish Intellectual Tradition


Book Description

The Jewish intellectual tradition has a long and complex history that has resulted in significant and influential works of scholarship. In this book, the authors suggest that there is a series of common principles that can be extracted from the Jewish intellectual tradition that have broad, even life-changing, implications for individual and societal achievement. These principles include respect for tradition while encouraging independent, often disruptive thinking; a precise system of logical reasoning in pursuit of the truth; universal education continuing through adulthood; and living a purposeful life. The main objective of this book is to understand the historical development of these principles and to demonstrate how applying them judiciously can lead to greater intellectual productivity, a more fulfilling existence, and a more advanced society.




Talmudic Reasoning


Book Description

The development of explicit legal concepts and principles in rabbinic literature reflects rabbinic legal thought at its most creative and sophisticated, as many of these concepts and principles deal with abstract, metaphysical entities. In this study Leib Moscovitz systematically surveys the development and impact of abstraction and conceptualization in the various legal corpora of rabbinic literature, illustrating the critical and unique role that conceptualization plays in talmudic reasoning. He demonstrates how the analysis of rabbinic conceptualization can shed light on numerous important aspects of rabbinic scholarship, such as the character and development of rabbinic legal thought, techniques of rabbinic legal exegesis, rabbinic jurisprudence, and various philological and historical issues in rabbinics, such as the chronology of the anonymous stratum of the Babylonian Talmud. Rabbinic conceptualization, though unique in many respects, shares certain features with cognate disciplines, and this study utilizes these disciplines (mainly jurisprudence, cognitive psychology, and philosophy) to illuminate rabbinic conceptualization wherever relevant. The themes addressed in this study include the use of casuistics, generalization, and implicit conceptualization in the earlier strata of rabbinic literature, classification and legal definition, legal fictions, legal explanation, analogy and association, and the development and use of explicit legal concepts and principles in the later strata of rabbinic literature.




Rereading The Rabbis


Book Description

Fully acknowledging that Judaism, as described in both the Bible and the Talmud, was patriarchal, Judith Hauptman demonstrates that the rabbis of the Talmud made significant changes in key areas of Jewish law in order to benefit women. Reading the texts with feminist sensibilities, recognizing that they were written by men and for men and that the




ספר דרך תבונות


Book Description

Drawing extensively on examples from the Gemara, this work bridges Talmudic analysis and the principles of logic. With Hebrew and facing English, detailed chapter outlines, indices and charts.




The Refutation of the Christian Principles


Book Description

During the fourteenth century, there was a general demoralization in the Jewish community in Spain. Many Jews were on the brink of conversion. Rabbi Crescas met the Christian challenge by writing this pithy book refuting the principles of the Christian religion. He argued that the basic Christian doctrines, namely, original sin, salvation, trinity, incarnation, virgin birth, transubstantiation, baptism, the messiah, a new covenant, and demons, contradict human reason, thereby calling into question Christianity's claim to be a true religion. The Refutation is an important document of the medieval Jewish-Christian debate and is also especially important for the history of Jewish philosophy in general.




Maimonides


Book Description

A comprehensive and accessible account of the life and thought of Judaism's most celebrated philosopher Maimonides was the greatest Jewish philosopher and legal scholar of the medieval period, a towering figure who has had a profound and lasting influence on Jewish law, philosophy, and religious consciousness. This book provides a comprehensive and accessible introduction to his life and work, revealing how his philosophical sensibility and outlook informed his interpretation of Jewish tradition. Moshe Halbertal vividly describes Maimonides's childhood in Muslim Spain, his family's flight to North Africa to escape persecution, and their eventual resettling in Egypt. He draws on Maimonides's letters and the testimonies of his contemporaries, both Muslims and Jews, to offer new insights into his personality and the circumstances that shaped his thinking. Halbertal then turns to Maimonides's legal and philosophical work, analyzing his three great books—Commentary on the Mishnah, the Mishneh Torah, and the Guide of the Perplexed. He discusses Maimonides's battle against all attempts to personify God, his conviction that God's presence in the world is mediated through the natural order rather than through miracles, and his locating of philosophy and science at the summit of the religious life of Torah. Halbertal examines Maimonides's philosophical positions on fundamental questions such as the nature and limits of religious language, creation and nature, prophecy, providence, the problem of evil, and the meaning of the commandments. A stunning achievement, Maimonides offers an unparalleled look at the life and thought of this important Jewish philosopher, scholar, and theologian.