Martin D. Yaffe

Martin D. Yaffe is a Professor of Philosophy and Religious Studies at the University of North Texas (UNT), where he has taught since 1968. He also served at Tel Aviv University in 1971–72 and is affiliated with UNT’s Center for Environmental Philosophy. Yaffe holds a B.A. from the University of Toronto and a Ph.D. from Claremont Graduate University.

His research focuses on political philosophy, Jewish thought, and environmental ethics. Notable works include Shylock and the Jewish Question (1997), Leo Strauss on Moses Mendelssohn (2012), and the edited volume Judaism and Environmental Ethics: A Reader (2001). He is currently translating Francis Bacon’s New Organon (1620) and co-translating Lessing’s Nathan the Wise (1779).

Yaffe’s interdisciplinary scholarship bridges political theory, religious ethics, and environmental philosophy. His translations of Spinoza and Bacon underscore his engagement with foundational texts in liberal democracy and modern science.