Dear Abbie - The Non-Advice Podcast

Well, I am a person who, for most of her life, has carried a number of secrets. Possibly for that reason, or possibly because, temperamentally, I experience every encounter in an extra-amplified way, I try to tip toe through the world unheard and unseen. Abigail L. Rosenthal is Professor Emerita at Brooklyn College of The City University of New York. She is the author of Confessions of A Young Phi...

One of our back-to-back appointments here in California was cancelled, freeing the Saturday afternoon hours, so we decided to go see “Wonder Woman,” a great hero of my childhood now back in living cinematic color. Abigail L. Rosenthal is Professor Emerita at Brooklyn College of The City University of New York. She is the author of Confessions of A Young Philosopher (forthcoming), which is a woman&...

Does this truth-behind-the-mask change anything for the philosophical reader? I can’t speak for anybody else, but I take philosophy very seriously. I’ll tell you what it changes for me. Abigail L. Rosenthal is Professor Emerita at Brooklyn College of The City University of New York. She is the author of Confessions of A Young Philosopher (forthcoming), which is a woman's "confession&quot...

In public, many feminists repudiate the whole structure: the pedestal and the woman trying to stand on it. I don’t. Abigail L. Rosenthal is Professor Emerita at Brooklyn College of The City University of New York. She is the author of Confessions of A Young Philosopher (forthcoming), which is a woman's "confession" in the tradition of Augustine and Rousseau. She writes a weekly onli...

Is a woman’s virtue rewarded? And, by the way, what do we mean by woman’s virtue nowadays? Abigail L. Rosenthal is Professor Emerita at Brooklyn College of The City University of New York. She is the author of Confessions of A Young Philosopher (forthcoming), which is a woman's "confession" in the tradition of Augustine and Rousseau. She writes a weekly online column, "Dear Abb...

My explanation is simpler and covers all the cases. They are hated because God chose them. Abigail L. Rosenthal is Professor Emerita at Brooklyn College of The City University of New York. She is the author of Confessions of A Young Philosopher (forthcoming), which is a woman's "confession" in the tradition of Augustine and Rousseau. She writes a weekly online column, "Dear Abb...

Hell, I like happy endings. Does this story contain one? Oh sure. When the messiah comes, or comes back if you prefer, we’re all gonna go to our happy place. But within the terms of our present discussion? Any happy ending here and now?  . . . Abigail L. Rosenthal is Professor Emerita at Brooklyn College of The City University of New York. She is the author of Confessions of A Young Philosopher (f...

Last Saturday, in Torah Study, we read Numbers 16, the chapter where there’s a rebellion against the leadership of Moses. Korah and his faction of 250 Levite elders give voice to the uprising. Why should Moses continue in the leadership as the holiest Israelite? Isn’t the whole community holy? Who made him the CEO of holiness? Abigail L. Rosenthal is Professor Emerita at Brooklyn College of The Ci...

In my whole life, I have never been so angry. . . Abigail L. Rosenthal is Professor Emerita at Brooklyn College of The City University of New York. She is the author of Confessions of A Young Philosopher (forthcoming), which is a woman's "confession" in the tradition of Augustine and Rousseau. She writes a weekly online column, "Dear Abbie: The Non-Advice Column" along wit...

I can’t “normalize” the past. Yet I’m aware of its insidious presence in our world. It’s true, many people have been persecuted and massacred, for all kinds of reasons — having nothing to do with this theology. But it is the longest hatred, of a single target, in recorded history. I often say that, in my next life, I’m coming back Swedish. But now I’m in this life. Abigail L. Rosenthal is Professo...

As anyone knows who knows me, I detest the very word “microaggression.” To me, it’s part of a newly weaponized jargon that allows any accuser to put on the mantle of victimhood and leave the accused to fight her own way back to social safety. That said, I can’t think of another title for the story I’m about to share with you. Abigail L. Rosenthal is Professor Emerita at Brooklyn College of The Cit...

So what message did I get this morning? What came to me was merely this: I am happy. Abigail L. Rosenthal is Professor Emerita at Brooklyn College of The City University of New York. She is the author of Confessions of A Young Philosopher (forthcoming), which is a woman's "confession" in the tradition of Augustine and Rousseau. She writes a weekly online column, "Dear Abbie: Th...

Our temple sponsored a lecture by Kasim Hafeez, a Brit of Pakistani origin who had seriously resolved to give his life for jihad and then changed his mind. Everybody on the planet has an interest in finding out whether that can happen, and if so, how. His talk was titled, “Hate to Hope: The Day I Stopped Hating Israel.” . . . Abigail L. Rosenthal is Professor Emerita at Brooklyn College of The Cit...

If each of us were sure we were right, we would never quarrel with anyone – much less break with friends – over politics. The politically-triggered quarrels, friendship breakages, civil-society breakdowns, result from our insecurity over what we think true in the conflict zones of public life... Abigail L. Rosenthal is Professor Emerita at Brooklyn College of The City University of New York. She i...

We don’t start life with a clean slate. Childhood is the time we spend figuring out what kind of a hand of cards we’ve been dealt and how to start playing it. What happens to us – inside ourselves – when we embark on the project of blaming others (or accepting blame) for the original hand that they, or we, were dealt? Abigail L. Rosenthal is Professor Emerita at Brooklyn College of The City Univer...

Lately I’ve been reading a book titled What is Fiction For ? The British philosopher Bernard Harrison wrote it to defend novels – defend writing them and reading them – from the accusation that they don’t tell the truth . . . ! Abigail L. Rosenthal is Professor Emerita at Brooklyn College of The City University of New York. She is the author of Confessions of A Young Philosopher (forthcoming), whi...

“Because you were here,” I said, “now when people speak of God, they speak as if He’s real. And, when they speak of Israel, they speak as if it’s important.” Abigail L. Rosenthal is Professor Emerita at Brooklyn College of The City University of New York. She is the author of Confessions of A Young Philosopher (forthcoming), which is a woman's "confession" in the tradition of August...

Good people try to live the sorts of stories that will solve the problems of their lives as reasonably and realistically as they can. Meanwhile, evil people aim to mess up good people’s stories. When I first spoke in public about my view (later published in A Good Look at Evil ) colleagues either treated it as a fantasy or as something a girl would like to think, poor dear. Abigail L. Rosenthal is...

What are the dead up to? Are they just nonexistent ? Many philosophers believe that and most would rather be annihilated than wrong. Abigail L. Rosenthal is Professor Emerita of Philosophy, Brooklyn College of The City University of New York.  She is the author of A Good Look at Evil , a Pulitzer Prize nominee, now appearing in an expanded second edition and as audiobooks .  Dr. Rosenthal writes a...

When I met Jerry and we fell in love, I recognized the real thing and knew I had to reshape my life to give it breathing and growing room. We found a place to live as a couple – not his Washington DC and not my New York – because love is serious. You can’t kid around. You have to give it its place. Abigail L. Rosenthal is Professor Emerita of Philosophy, Brooklyn College of The City University of...

What’s it to me? Well, I have entered the lists to combat the Freud claims and their cultural influence in a number of books and articles. So this is something of which I’ve long been convinced. Abigail L. Rosenthal is Professor Emerita of Philosophy, Brooklyn College of The City University of New York.  She is the author of A Good Look at Evil , a Pulitzer Prize nominee, now appearing in an expan...

Two questions: Why should any educated person care? Whaddya mean by “true”? Abigail L. Rosenthal is Professor Emerita of Philosophy, Brooklyn College of The City University of New York.  She is the author of A Good Look at Evil , a Pulitzer Prize nominee, now appearing in an expanded second edition and as audiobooks .  Dr. Rosenthal writes a weekly column for “ Dear Abbie: The Non-Advice Column ,”...

Our temple had the guest visit of a kabbalist over the weekend. It was very creative on the part of our leadership to invite him, so I hate to say this but – everybody liked it but me . . . Abigail L. Rosenthal is Professor Emerita of Philosophy, Brooklyn College of The City University of New York.  She is the author of A Good Look at Evil , a Pulitzer Prize nominee, now appearing in an expanded s...

Departing from our usual format for this week's podcast we have the interview with me by my husband Jerry L. Martin on his podcast God: An Autobiography .  In his interview for The Life Wisdom Project Series , Jerry asks for my reactions to one of the key episodes from the podcast and his book God: An Autobiography As Told to a Philosopher . Abigail L. Rosenthal is Professor Emerita of Philos...

The philosophic issues haven’t gone away. Evil hasn’t gotten stale. It’s alive, well and prevalent as ever. Abigail L. Rosenthal is Professor Emerita of Philosophy, Brooklyn College of The City University of New York.  She is the author of A Good Look at Evil , a Pulitzer Prize nominee, now appearing in an expanded second edition and as audiobooks .  Dr. Rosenthal writes a weekly column for “ Dear...