Steven Katz

Steven T. Katz (1944–present) is an American philosopher and historian specializing in Jewish philosophy, Holocaust studies, and comparative mysticism. He earned his PhD from the University of Cambridge and has held positions at Dartmouth College and Boston University, where he served as Director of the Elie Wiesel Center for Jewish Studies. Katz's contributions to philosophy of religion include his influential contextualist approach to mystical experience, arguing against perennialist theories that posit a common core to all mystical experiences across traditions. His edited volume "Mysticism and Philosophical Analysis" (1978) challenged prevailing assumptions about the universality of religious experience. In Jewish thought, Katz has examined post-Holocaust theology and the philosophical implications of radical evil for traditional theodicy. His work on comparative mysticism and religious epistemology has significantly shaped debates about the nature of religious experience, the relationship between language and mystical states, and methodological approaches to studying diverse religious traditions.