ELI BENJAMIN ISRAEL

I'm a philosopher working on ethics, moral psychology, Kant, and the philosophy of sex & love. My current research focuses on the normativity of trust and consent within interpersonal relationships — you can learn more about my research here.

I'm in my final year as a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Philosophy at Temple University.
I recently completed my term as Chair of the APA's Graduate Student Council and am currently serving on the advisory committee for the APA's 2025-2030 Strategic Plan.
In addition, I'm affiliated with several research projects and networks, including the Center for Positive Sexuality, the Sexual Ethics Circle, the Ethical Dating Online Network, and the Liberalism Rekindled Research Project.

Before joining Temple, I earned undergraduate and master's degrees in Philosophy at The Hebrew University ofJerusalem.

News

Blog Post With the end of my term as Chair of the APA's Graduate Student Council, I've taken time to reflect on my journey to The Blog of the APA.
Publication My paper, "Navigating Vagueness: Rule-Following and the Scope of Trust" is now forthcoming in The Philosophical Quarterly.
Fellowship I was granted a fellowship from the Institute for Humane Studies to support the development of my paper "Breaking Trust: Disappointment and Betrayal as Relational Attitudes.
Award & Publication I was awarded the 2024 NAKS Markus Herz Prize for "Kant on Moral Trust." This paper, now titled "A Kantian Account of Moral Trust", is forthcoming in The Kantian Review.
Award I was awarded the 2024-2025 Nordev Prize for "An Atemporal Reading of Kant's Postulate of Immortality."

November 2024 “Participant Trust” // 28th Oxford Graduate Philosophy Conference, University of Oxford
January 2025 Comments to “On Lying, Deception, and Using Others Merely as a Means: What Sort of Prohibition on Lying to Others Does Kant’s Formula of Humanity Support?” by Melissa Fahmy // APA Eastern Division Meeting, New York, NY
January 2025 Panel Participation on “The Philosophy of Sexual Violence” (Routledge, 2024) // APA Eastern Division Meeting, SPSL session, New York, NY
February 2025 “Participant Trust” // APA Central Division Meeting, Colloquium, Online
March 2025 “Breaking Trust: Relocating Disappointment and Betrayal” // Liberalism Rekindled Research Project, Online
May 2025 “Caring for Valid Sexual Consent” // ScienceAbroard Event, Online
August 2025 “Breaking Trust: Relocating Disappointment and Betrayal” // "From Bitterness to Disappointment and Back" Workshop, University of Vienna

Eli Benjamin Israel
Department of Philosophy
Temple University
718 Mazur Hall, 1114 Polett
Walk, Philadelphia, PA 19122

Email: [email protected]

"Trust doesn’t happen in a vacuum, but it happens within relationships."