פרופ' Alex Blum

Education

B.A. in Philosophy. Brooklyn College, January 1959.

M.A. in Philosophy. New York University, October 1965.

M.A. Thesis: A Prolegomenon Toward a Theory of Private Language. 

Ph.D. in Philosophy. New York University, June 1968.

Doctoral Dissertation:The Logic of Causality: A Critical Examination of Some  
                                          Approaches.

 

Honors

John Pickett Turner Award in Philosophy. Brooklyn College, June 1959.

Founders Day Award. New York University, April 1969.

Guest of the Italian Government for Conference on Mediterranean Philosophy,

   November 1975.

1993 issue of Metalogicon devoted to a work on Spinoza written jointly with 
   Stanley Malinovich.

 

History of Academic Appointments

 

2003-              Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, Bar-Ilan University.

1997-2003      Professor of Philosophy, Bar-Ilan University.

1990-92          Dean of Humanities, Bar-Ilan University.

1988-90          Head of Department of Philosophy ,Bar-Ilan University.

1985 Fall-   Associate Professor of Philosophy (Part-time), Tel-Aviv University. 

1983 Spring-  Visiting Research Scholar in Philosophy, Columbia University.

1982 Fall-   Visiting Associate Professor of Philosophy, University of Hawaii.

1975-76           Senior Lecturer in Philosophy (Part-time), The Hebrew University of 

                             Jerusalem.

1979-97           Associate Professor of Philosophy, Bar-Ilan University.

1971-79           Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, Bar- Ilan University.

1969-71           University Fellow in Philosophy, Bar-Ilan University.

1968-69           Lecturer in Philosophy, Bar-Ilan University.

1965-68           Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Logic, New York Institute of              

                             Technology.

1962-65           Instructor in Philosophy and Logic, New York Institute of 
                            Technology.

1961-64           Graduate Assistant in Philosophy, New York University.

1959-64           Senior High School Mathematics Teacher, Esther Schoenfeld High
                            School,New York City.

Publications

 

Books

1. Logica l (in Hebrew) .Dekel Academic Press, Tel-Aviv, 1979,1984,1987,1990.   
     Pp.222+x.

2. Logica II (in Hebrew). Dekel Academic Press, Tel- Aviv, 2002
     Pp.298+vi.

 

Edited

1. Founder and editor (with Asa Kasher).  PHILOSOPHIA: Philosophical Quarterly 
      of Israel volume I (1971) to volume V (1976).

2. Acting Managing Editor. The Journal of Philosophy.Columbia University.

      (1983: Jan.,Feb., March, April, May, June, July, August).

 

Articles

1. “The Missing Premiss”. Notre Dame Journal of Formal Logic. XI:2, April 
        1970:203-4.

2. “Laws and Instantial Statements”.The British Journal for the Philosophy of  
        Science. 21:4, November 1970:371-8.

3. “Sortals and Paradox”. Philosophical Studies. 22:3, April 1971:33-4.

4. “Isomorphism Between C1­­  and C2 ’’. Zeitschrift fur Mathematische Logik Und
         Grundlagen der Mathematik . 18:3, 1972:237-40.

5. “A Correction in Copi’s Account of Boolean Normal Forms”. Notre Dame
          Journal of Formal Logic . xiv:2, April 1973:288.

6. “On Epistemic Opacity”. Logique et Analyse. 16:63-4, September-December   
          1973:379-80.

7. “A Note On Natural Deduction”. Notre Dame Journal of Formal Logic. xv:2, April
         1974:349-50.

8. “A Logic of Belief”. Notre Dame Journal of Formal Logic. 17:3, July 1976:344-8.

9. “Two Observations About S5*”. Zeitschrift fur Mathematische Logik Und Grund-

        lagen der Mathematik. 23:6, 1977:485-6.

10. “Simple and Compound Statements”. Logique et Analyse.  New Series.
          20:77-8 March- June 1977:165-6  .

11. “Convention T and Natural Languages”.Dialectica. 32:1, 1978:77-80.

12. “Quine on an Alleged Non Sequitur”. Notre Dame Journal of Formal Logic.
          22:3, July 1981:249-50.

13. “On Death”. Diotima. 9, 1981:149-50.

14. “Analyticity and Truth in All Possible Worlds”. Nous. xvii:3, May 1983:281-9.

15. “‘->‘ and ‘if....then...’.Logique et Analyse.113 Mars 1986. 29:111

16. “Nozick On Indeterministic Free Will”(with Stanley Malinovich). Journal Of
         Chinese Philosophy. 13:4,December 1986:471-3.

17. “D-validity in Predicate Logic with Individual Constants”. International Logic
          Review.35.1, June 1987:28-31.

18. “Pain Corrigibility” (with Ralph Carasso). Manuscrito. Xi:2, October

          1988:127-8.

19. “A Version of the Frege-Quine Argument”. Dialectica. 42:4, 1988:307-11.

20. “On Respect ’’. Philosophical Inquiry . X:1-2, 1988:325-6.

21. “A Look at Tractatus 6.54”. Logique et Analyse. 123-4,1988:219-21.

22. “Tractatus 2.063”. Philosophical Investigations. 12:4, October 1989:325-6.

23. “An Anomaly in the D-N Model of Explanation”. The British Journal for the
          Philosophy of Science. 40:4, December 1989:365-7.

24. “Bayne On Kripke”. Philosophia. 19:4, December 1989:455-6.

25. “Ruminations on Psychological Illness”. Skepsis . I,1990:185-8.

26. “On A Mainstay of Incompatibilism”. Iyyun. English Edition. 39, July
          1990:267-79.

27. “Tenets of Freedom”. Philosophical Inquiry. Xii, 1990:65-7.

28. “A Note On Pleasure”. Journal Of Value Inquiry. 25, 1991:367-70.

29. “A Remark On Individual Constants”. Iyyun. English Edition. 40, January
         1991:93-4.

30. “Freud and Emotion”. Aitia. 17:3, 1991:13-5.

31. “The Tragedy of Death”. Metaphora. (Hebrew) 2, 1991:126.

32. “On James On Emotion”. Skepsis. III, 1992:135-9.

33. “A Formalization of a Segment of Part l of Spinoza’s Ethics” (with Stanley
        Malinovich). Metalogicon. VI:1, 1993:1-14.

34. “A Misleading Note”. Iyyun. English Edition. 43, January 1994:98.

35. “The Agony of Pain”. Philosophical Inquiry. XVIII:3-4. 1996:117-20.

36. “Nozick On Free Will” . Skepsis. 7,1996: 197-199.

37. “A Purported Theorem of Epistemic Logic”. Teorema. XVI:1. 1996:105-6.

38. “Belief in the Tractatus”. Grazer Philosophische Studien. 51, 1996: 259-60.

39  “The Elements of Emotion”. Skepsis. 8,1997: 218-223.

40. “Elementary Logic and Modal Logic.” Iyyun .English Edition. 46, January
        1997:49-51.

41. “Impossible Premises and Good Argument”. Manuscrito. XX:1. April
        1997:37-8.

42. “Substitutivity”. Logique et Analyse. 159, September 1997: 249- 253.

43. “The Private Language Argument: Some Reservations”. Epistemologia. XXI,
        1998:131-3 .

44. “Identity”.  Iyyun . English Edition. 47, January 1998: 77- 9.  

1.  “Sentence, Necessity, and Meaning”. Philosophia. 27:3-4. November 
     1999:521-2.

46. “The Expression of Truth”.  Skepsis. X,1999: 175. 

47. “Three Interesting Theorems of Elementary Logic “. Diotima. 28, 2000:178-9. 

48. “Most”. Iyyun. English Edition. 49, January 2000: 73- 4.

49. “N”. Analysis. 60:3, (NS.#267) July 2000 :284-6.

50. “The Kantian vs Frankfurter”. Analysis. 60:3, (NS.#267) July 2000:287-8.  

51. “Truth-Values”. Iyyun. English Edition. 49, July 2000: 301-2.

52. “A Modified Slingshot”. Iyyun. English Edition. 50, January 2001:50-4 .

53. “Epileptic Seizures, Some Dyskensia and “Alpha Tape” (with Barbara Blum). 
        “Correspondence” Seizure. 11, 2002: 138.

54. “On the Core of the Consequence Argument”. Dialectica. 57:4 ,2003:423-9.

55.  “Humanistic Choice”. Skepsis.  XV:ii-iii, 2004:338-40.

56. “A Problem Regarding An Uncertainty”. BDD. 15, September 2004:65-6.            

57. “On the Cannot of Infalibility”. Sophia. 44:1, May 2005:125-7.

58. “A Note on Theological Fatalism”. Organon F. XIV:2 2007:143-7.

59. "On the Curry-Lob Paradox" The Reasoner, 1:7, November 2007, p. 6.

       http://www.thereasoner.org/

60. "When is a statement not a statement?-When it’s a Liar" (with Laurence    

       Goldstein)  The Reasoner,  2:2, February 2008, pp. 4-6.

      http://www.thereasoner.org/

61. “Arithmetic and Logic Incompleteness: The Link”(with Laureano Luna)

        The Reasoner, 2:3, March 2008, pp. 4-6. http://www.thereasoner.org/

 62. “The Paradox of Omnipotence: Not for an omnipotent God”. The Reasoner.     

         2:12,  December 2008, p.4. http://www.thereasoner.org/

63. “The Soundness of the Underlying Structure of Godel’s Ontological Proof”.

         Iyyun. English Edition. 58, January 2009:89-91 .

64. “Rejoinder to Majid Amini on Omnipotence”. The Reasoner, 3:2, February           

        2009, p.6. http://www.thereasoner.org/

65. “On Omnipotence: Second Thoughts”. The Reasoner, 3:3, March 2009, p.8.     

        http://www.thereasoner.org/

66. “Godel and the Material Conditional”. The Reasoner, 3:5, May 2009, pp.6-7.

        http://www.thereasoner.org/ 

67. "The Force of Truth" Philosophical Investigations. 34:4, October 2011,

       pp. 393-5.

68.  “Foreknowledge and Free Will”.  Organon F XIX:1 (2012) pp. 55-7.

69.  “On Changing the Past”. Organon F 20 (3) 2013: 377-378.      

70.   “The Modal ‘Can’ and Material Implication”. Annales Philosophici. 7 (2013).  
          Pp. 9-10.

71. “A Religious Belief” (with Peter Genco). Annales Philosophici. 7 (2013). P. 25.

72. “On Disjunction” Acta Philosophica. 24:II (2015) pp.383-4.

73. “An Aspect of Necessity” Metalogicon. New Series. I:1 (2016) pp. 31- 6

74.  Wittgenstein on the Cretan Liar” Metalogicon. NS Vol2:1 (2017) pp. 19-21

75. "Can it be that Tully=Cicero" Symposion (Romanian Academy) 4:2 November 2017  
       

76. "The Hidden Future" Symposion (Romanian Academy) 5:1 (2018):9-10.

77. “Aristotle and the Future” Symposion (Romanian Academy)  7, 1 (2020): 7-8.

78. “Necessity in a Possible World” The Reasoner 15: 1 (2021): 3-4.

79. “Kripke on Identity Statements” Symposion (Romanian Academy)  8, 2 (2021): 153.

80. “Necessity of Identity and Tarski’s T-schema”. Philosophical Investigations. (forthcoming).

81. “UG in Irving Copi’s Symbolic Logic” The Reasoner   Volume 17, Number 1 January 2023 p7

80. “Necessity of Identity and Tarski’s T-schema”. Philosophical Investigations. 46:2: (April 2023} pp264-265. .

81. “UG in Irving Copi’s Symbolic Logic”. The Reasoner   Volume 17, Number 1 January 2023 p7.

82. “ On everything is Necessarily what it is”. Organon F.  30:3. August 2023. Pp 278–    280.                

83. “On the Argument for the Necessity of Identity” Symposion, 10, 2 (2023): 169-    171.

84. ‘On the necessity of identity and Tarski's T-schema’—A response to Davood  Hossein”         

Philosophical Investigations. 47:2   (April 2024) pp 270–271.   

85. “On a Conception of Essence”. Symposion, 11, 1 (2024): 7-8

           

 

        

 

                                   

Miscellaneous

a. Critical Study of Wayne A.Davis’s An Introduction To Logic. Philosophia. 
    18:2-3, July 1988:303-8.

b. “Correction to Alex Blum’s ‘N’”. Analysis. 61:1, (NS.#269) January 2001:86.

c.   Letters: in The Sciences (“Peer Review”), Scientific American (“Letters”), The     
      Reasoner (“Letters”) .d.  Reviewer for Mathematical Reviews on a regular
      basis since 1975.  

d. Appointed for the years 2013-4 by the Ministry of Education of Israel to serve on

   the curriculum committee for High School Philosophy.

e. .Areas of Interest: Analytic Metaphysics and Philosophical Logic  

 (f.Editorial Board Philosophia (till 2023),

Advisory Board Symposion (Romanian Academy 

g. Advisory Board of Logos and Episteme (Romanian Academy)