Death Be Not Proud
We think of our life stories as headed toward a concluding sentence, after which, if they were novels, we would see written: “The End.” Not that everyone…
Days of Awe
On the anniversary of September 11, I often rerun the column that I posted here in September 2001, after my visit to the City, a week later. …
The Meanings of Our Lives
People commit suicide when their lives seem to them meaningless. At least, that’s been my experience, which I’ll share with you. I’ve talked two women friends out…
Afghan Hope
Phyllis Chesler is an Emerita Professor of Psychology and Women’s Studies at the City University of New York. She is a veteran of many feminist combats, has…
The Eternal Feminine
The other night I had a dream where some medical expert was examining me for breast cancer. He seemed properly qualified to do this and the examination…
Explain This
If the roof falls in or the ship is taking water, I’m the teammate you’ll want to have around. I’ll do anything that seems to need doing…
Light on the Longest Hatred
I’d intended to devote this column to leisurely reflections on what I sometimes term “the Jewish assignment” in history. Reflections prompted by a biography I’m now reading,…
The Man/Woman Thing
We were having dinner at the Mission Inn, which is one of the attractions of Riverside, the town in California where we stayed during the week of…
Jewish Forgiveness
For some readers, this title is an oxymoron and might even prompt a double take. Are we talking about non-Jews forgiving Jews, and how they can do…
For the Love of Wisdom
When I first began my graduate studies in philosophy, I’d be told – in so many words as well as body language – that any residual hopes…
My First Teaching Non-Anxiety Dream
I don’t know how many academics and former academics have teaching anxiety dreams, but mine followed me even after stepping down from active faculty status. You can…
Why I Failed to Notice that I’m Happy
Lately, I’ve been passing through what a friend called “a perfect storm” of setbacks. When they mount to a certain number, you can’t tell what’s big and…
Was It A Past Life?
By now there are many cases on record of individuals recalling previous lifetimes. A person under hypnosis will seem to remember incidents that occurred under conditions quite…
What’s My Relation to God as of Now?
From my earliest memories, the question, Is there a God, wasn’t a question I asked. This though, once I grew up, I got to be a philosopher…