1929 – 2010
J. Howard Sobel (1929–2010) was a Canadian analytic philosopher at the University of Toronto, known for rigorous formal work in deontic logic, decision theory, and philosophy of religion. He made significant contributions to the logic of obligation and practical reasoning, and late in his career produced a comprehensive formal critique of arguments for theism.
Developed formal analyses of temporal and conditional obligation in deontic logic
Authored 'Logic and Theism' (2004), a systematic logical examination of arguments for and against God's existence
Contributed foundational work on Newcomb's problem and causal decision theory
Analyzed the logic of practical reasoning, including when and how obligations bind across time