Uncertainty Rules in Talmudic Reasoning

TY - JOUR

T1 - Uncertainty Rules in Talmudic Reasoning

AU - Gabbay, Dov M.

AU - Koppel, Moshe

PY - 2011/2

Y1 - 2011/2

N2 - The Babylonian Talmud, compiled from the 2nd to 7th centuries C.E., is the primary source for all subsequent Jewish laws. It is not written in apodeictic style, but rather as a discursive record of (real or imagined) legal (and other) arguments crossing a wide range of technical topics. Thus, it is not a simple matter to infer general methodological principles underlying the Talmudic approach to legal reasoning. Nevertheless, in this article, we propose a general principle that we believe helps to explain the variety of methods used by the Rabbis of the Talmud for resolving uncertainty in matters of Jewish Law (henceforth: Halakhah). Such uncertainty might arise either if the facts of a case are clear but the relevant law is debatable or if the facts themselves are unclear.

AB - The Babylonian Talmud, compiled from the 2nd to 7th centuries C.E., is the primary source for all subsequent Jewish laws. It is not written in apodeictic style, but rather as a discursive record of (real or imagined) legal (and other) arguments crossing a wide range of technical topics. Thus, it is not a simple matter to infer general methodological principles underlying the Talmudic approach to legal reasoning. Nevertheless, in this article, we propose a general principle that we believe helps to explain the variety of methods used by the Rabbis of the Talmud for resolving uncertainty in matters of Jewish Law (henceforth: Halakhah). Such uncertainty might arise either if the facts of a case are clear but the relevant law is debatable or if the facts themselves are unclear.

U2 - 10.1080/01445340.2010.506102

DO - 10.1080/01445340.2010.506102

M3 - Article

VL - 32

SP - 63

EP - 69

JO - HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF LOGIC

JF - HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF LOGIC

IS - 1

ER -