Judaism

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Part of the Palgrave Frontiers in Philosophy of Religion book series (PFPR)

Abstract

The traditional Jewish view of the afterlife has a labyrinthine landscape and a complex chronology, including no less than: reincarnation, purgatory, annihilation, a world of departed souls, the messianic age, the bodily resurrection of the dead, and the world to come. Our paper first addresses some of the skepticism in contemporary Jewish thought about the afterlife. We then outline the central features of the traditional Jewish view, along with some disagreements within the tradition. We then turn to a philosophical puzzle about the significance of the afterlife and close with a related discussion of its purpose.

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Copyright information

© The Author(s) 2017

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Department of PhilosophyWake Forest UniversityNCUSA
  2. 2.Department of PhilosophyThe Hebrew University of JerusalemJerusalemIsrael

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