A D V E R T I S E M E N T

A D V E R T I S E M E N T

In a sense, Rebecca Goldstein - author of "Betraying Spinoza" - has spent her life committing acts of betrayal. She betrayed her Orthodox Jewish background by choosing to study philosophy. Early in her philosophical career, she turned away from her field and broke the unspoken rules of academia by writing a popular novel, "The Mind-Body Problem." She went on to write five more books of fiction while continuing to teach. Now, with "Betraying Spinoza" and previously with "Incompleteness: The Proof and Paradox of Kurt Godel," she has returned to writing about philosophy. In an interview with The New York Sun, she described the boundaries of fiction and philosophy - and what it's like to cross them.

Q: What drew you to philosophy?

A: What was so liberating for me was the nature of doubt. In the culture into which I was born, doubt was seen as a moral failing. In philoso phy, it's a methodology. It has a positive moral value, and to accept something whole-heartedly, without doubt - that's seen as a failing.

Then, having studied philosophy, what led you to fiction?

I concentrated in philosophy - mostly philosophy of science and philosophy of math. But I always loved novels, even though I was a little embarrassed about it.When I was finished with my doctorate, I bingeread these highly caloric, 19th-century novels. I never thought I would write one, but in some sense I was preparing. There was something that they fed in me.

What is it like to participate in these two vastly different fields?

Continued
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