Avishai Margalit

Avishai Margalit is a George F. Kennan Professor in the School of Historical Studies at the Institute for Advanced Study.

He is one of the foremost thinkers and commentators on the contemporary human condition, the moral issues of our time and current problems facing western societies. While trained as a philosopher, Margalit is highly regarded for his profound and cogent observations of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the broader struggle between Islam and the West.

As the author of Idolatry (with Moshe Halbertal, 1992), The Decent Society (1996), Views in Reviews: Politics and Culture in the State of the Jews (1998), The Ethics of Memory (2002) and Occidentalism: The West in the Eyes of Its Enemies (with Ian Buruma, 2004), Margalit has transformed philosophical perspectives on a range of political and societal issues. He began his appointment as the George F. Kennan Professor in July 2006.

Resource Highlights

GM's Larry Burns discusses the Chevy Volt and the possibilities of electric cars. > More > All Audios

Jan Egeland reports from the front lines of humanity. > More > All Transcripts

"Northeast Puts on the Carbon Cap," by Warren Wilczewski: For the first time, a carbon market is opening for business in the U.S. > More

Go to the Journal for articles on ethics and foreign policy. > More