Rebecca Newberger Goldstein

Rebecca Newberger Goldstein is a philosopher and novelist known for bridging analytic philosophy and literary fiction. Goldstein graduated summa cum laude from Barnard College, receiving the Montague Prize for Excellence in Philosophy, and earned a doctorate in philosophy from Princeton University. After completing her doctorate, she returned to Barnard to teach courses in philosophy of science, philosophy of mind, philosophy of psychology, the rationalists, the empiricists, and ancient Greek philosophy.

Goldstein is the author of six novels: "The Mind-Body Problem," "The Late-Summer Passion of a Woman of Mind," "The Dark Sister," "Mazel," "Properties of Light," and "36 Arguments for the Existence of God: A Work of Fiction." She has also published a collection of stories, "Strange Attractors." Her fiction explores philosophical questions, including the balance between emotion and reason. Goldstein's nonfiction works include "Plato at the Googleplex," "Incompleteness: The Proof and Paradox of Kurt Gödel," and "Betraying Spinoza: The Renegade Jew Who Gave Us Modernity." Her book "Incompleteness" has been featured in The New Yorker and The New York Times and was recognized by Discover magazine, Chicago Tribune, and New York Sun.

Goldstein has received several honors, including the National Humanities Medal, a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Radcliffe Fellowship, and a Whiting Award in Fiction. She has also received two Whiting awards—one in philosophy and one in writing—two National Jewish Book Awards, and the Koret International Award in Jewish Thought. Goldstein has been named Humanist of the Year by the American Humanist Association, a Freethought Heroine by the Freedom from Religion Foundation, and is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. The National Humanities Medal citation recognized her for bringing philosophy into conversation with culture, noting her scholarship on Spinoza and Gödel and her use of fiction to explore the conflict between thought and feeling.

Goldstein's book "The Mattering Instinct" synthesizes insights from biology, psychology, and philosophy to examine the human need for significance. She describes four ways people seek meaning—through transcendence, social connection, excellence, or competition—and analyzes how unmet needs for significance contribute to issues such as loneliness, extremism, and polarization. The concept of the "mattering map," first introduced in "The Mind-Body Problem," is further developed to explore how the need for significance shapes identity, relationships, and culture. Goldstein's work continues to influence discussions in philosophy, psychology, and literature.