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Philosophy Department




Arts and Sciences

To learn more about Professor Dobbs-Weinstein, read her interview: Why I am Obsessed with the "Other" Tradition

Idit Dobbs-Weinstein

Associate Professor of Philosophy

Contact Information

Email: idit.dobbs-weinstein@vanderbilt.edu
Office: Furman Hall 025
Phone: (615) 322-2265
Fax: (615) 343-7259

Degrees

  • B.A. (Honours) Political Science, Major: Political Philosophy, York University, Toronto, Summa cum Laude, 1981.
  • M.A. Political Science, Major: Political Philosophy, York University, Toronto, 1982.
  • M.A. Medieval Studies, Centre for Medieval Studies, University of Toronto, Major: Philosophy, 1983.
  • Ph.D. Medieval Studies, Centre for Medieval Studies, University of Toronto, Major: Philosophy.

 

Research Area

Professor Dobbs-Weinstein's research areas include: Aristotle, Medieval Jewish, Arabic and Christian Philosophy, Spinoza, Political Philosophy, and Contemporary Continental Philosophy

Current Research

Professor Dobbs-Weinstein's current project involves the critical examination of dominant modes of interpreting Aristotle's De Anima and Metaphysics and the recovery of an alternate materialist Aristotelian tradition occluded by them.

Recent Courses

Professor Dobbs-Weinstein regularly teaches courses in Aristotle, Spinoza, Nietzsche, Medieval Philosophy, and Critical Theory.

Publications

  • Maimonides and St. Thomas on the Limits of Reason, SUNY Press, 1995
  • "Medieval Biblical Commentary and Philosophical Inquiry as Exemplified in the Thought of Moses Maimonides and St. Thomas Aquinas," in Maimonides and His Times, E. Ormsby, ed. (Catholic University of America Press: 1989)
  • "The Existential Dimension of Providence in the Thought of Gersonides," in Gersonide en son Temps: science et philosophie medievales, Gilbert Dahan et Charles Touati, eds. (E. Peters, Louvain-Paris, 1991)
  • "The Concurrence of necessity and Freedom In Spinoza's Thought," Freedom and Responsibility: Studies in Jewish Philosophy, Daniel Frank, ed. 1994
  • "Between Natural Inclination and Convention," Proceedings of the Ninth International Congress of Medieval Philosophy, 1993.
  • "Maimonides Aspects in Spinoza's Thought," Graduate Faculty Philosophy Journal, Vol. 17, Nos. 1&2 (1994): 153-174.
  • "Gersonides' Radically Modern Understanding of the Agent Intellect," Meeting of the Minds: The Relations Between Medieval and Classical Modern European Philosophy, Stephen F. Brown, ed. Brepols, 1998
  • "Rereading the Tractatus Theologico-Politicus in Light of Benjamin's 'Theologico-Politico Fragment'" in Piety, Peace, and the Freedom to Philosophize, Paul Begley, ed. (Dordrecht/Boston/London: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1999)
  • "Gersonides, the Supercommentator on Aristotle: A Decisive Forgotten Link Between Averroes and Spinoza," Problems in Arabic Philosophy, Maroth Miklos, ed. (2001)
  • "Necessity Revisited: Spinoza as a Radical Aristotelian," Spinoza by 2000, Yirmiyahu Yovel, ed. Forthcoming.
  • "The Power of Prejudice and the Force of Law: Spinoza’s Critique of Religion and Its Heirs," EPOCHÉ, έπoχή a journal for the history of philosophy, Vol. 7:1 (2002): 51-70.
  • "Jewish Philosophy," Chapter in The Cambridge Companion to Medieval Philosophy, Steven McGrade, ed. 2003.
  • "Thinking Desire in Gersonides and Spinoza," Women and Gender in Jewish Philosophy, Hava Samuelson, ed. Indiana University Press, Spring 2004.
  • "Whose History? Spinoza's Critique of Religion as an Other Modernity." Idealistic Studies, forthcoming.