KingLeonardXXIII

In your book, you talk about practicing religion as a form of fictionalism—you’re pretty sure there’s no God but want to do Jewish things. How deeply are you engaging with religion? Do you believe there’s value in studying religious texts like the Bible, Talmud, or Code of Jewish Law or is it just about showing up to synagogue for services?

You use Kant’s exhortation against using human bodies as a means to an end to solve the trolley problem (differentiating between the wraparound hypothetical and the burly-man hypothetical). Does Kant substantiate this axiom in his work? On what basis does he claim we shouldn’t use humans as a means to an end—i.e., why not? This is important because you support abortion (ending what some consider a life) on this basis.

Do you have a favorite Jewish religious thinker or writer?