Jason Aleksander

I am a Professor of Philosophy at San José State University, where I work on medieval and Renaissance philosophy, with a particular focus on Dante, Nicholas of Cusa, philosophical theology, the philosophy of religion, and the ethics of interpretation. My research explores questions about the soul, interpretive practice, and the limits of knowledge—especially where theology, ethics, and poetics intersect.

I’m interested in how we come to understand meaning and value—not only through concepts, but through various aspects of aesthetic orientation. My current work develops a framework I call poietic realism, which explores the ethical and epistemic dimensions of interpretation across seemingly incommensurable systems. What does it mean to recognize truth without requiring foundational certainty? How do interpretive risk and intellectual humility operate together as philosophical virtues?

At San José State, I teach courses in the history of philosophy and on the problem of free will. I regularly offer classes in the global traditions of ancient philosophy—including Greek, Indian, and Chinese traditions—as well as medieval and Renaissance philosophy, with emphasis on Jewish, Islamic, and Christian thinkers. I’m especially drawn to the ways in which different credal systems produce overlapping ethical frameworks.