Jewish Philosophy in the Middle Ages

Raphael Jospe

Published by Academic Studies Press 2009

Jewish Philosophy in the Middle Ages

Raphael Jospe

In the series Emunot: Jewish Philosophy and Kabbalah

https://doi.org/10.1515/9781618110152

Overview
Contents

About this book

Jewish Philosophy in the Middle Ages presents an overview of the formative period of medieval Jewish philosophy, from its beginnings with Saadiah Gaon to its apex in Maimonides, when Jews living in Islamic countries and writing in Arabic were the first to develop a conscious and continuous tradition of philosophy.The book includes a dictionary of selected philosophic terms, and discusses the Greek and Arabic schools of thought that influenced the Jewish thinkers and to which they responded. The discussion covers: the nature of Jewish philosophy, Saadiah Gaon and the Kalam, Jewish Neo-Platonism, Bahya ibn Paqudah, Abraham ibn Ezra's philosophical Bible exegesis, Judah Ha-Levi's critique of philosophy, Abraham ibn Daud and the transition to Aristotelianism, Maimonides, and the controversy over Maimonides and philosophy.

Author / Editor information

Raphael Jospe teaches Jewish Philosophy at Bar Ilan University and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and served as the editor of the Jewish Philosophy Division of the Encyclopaedia Judaica (2nd edition). His publications include a 3-volume Hebrew history, Jewish Philosophy In the Middle Ages, Torah and Sophia: The Life and Thought of Shem Tov ibn Falaquera and a 2-volume collection, Jewish Philosophy: Foundations and Extensions.

Reviews

Daniel J. Lasker, Norbert Blechner Professor of Jewish Values, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev:
Raphael Jospe’s book was translated from a course produced for Israel’s Open University, and, therefore, is very much intended as a textbook, including copious citations from the works under discussion, frequent summaries of the material, and illustrations and tables...Furthermore, Jospe does not restrict himself merely to his authors’ strictly philosophical works, for instance discussing Judah Halevi’s poetry and Maimonides’s dogmatics. Of note is the long section devoted to Abraham ibn Ezra...In addition to his summary of the medieval views, and the production of texts which illustrate the points made, Jospe makes references to contemporary scholarship, presenting alternate interpretations of the works he discusses, often with his own response to these views.

D.B. Levy, Touro College, Lander College for Women:
"Jospe (Bar-Ilan University/Hebrew University) offers an excellent overview of a formative period in medieval Jewish philosophy, from Saadia Gaon to its climax with Maimonides, when Jews living in Islamic lands and writing in Arabic developed a conscious philosophical tradition. . . . Throughout, the author focuses on selected thinkers who represent important philosophical schools of thought and literary genres. Among the book's many useful features are the general introduction and helpful didactic charts, diagrams and tables. Included are comparative cross references, a good subject and name index, and two illuminating appendices. This book joins others in a group of excellent but very different scholarly treatments of Jewish philosophy, including Isaac Husik's History of Medieval Jewish Philosophy (1916), Julius Guttmann's Philosophies of Judaism (1964) and Colette Sirat's History of Jewish Philosophy in the Middle Ages (1985). Jospe's book complements these works and moves the philosophical discussion along. Summing Up: Highly Recommended. Graduate students and above; general readers."

Israel Drazen:
"This volume is [a] great achievement. [Dr. Jospe's] book can be used as both a textbook and reference book because of its clear and extensive index of names and topics. Yet the clarity of the book's presentation and its readability make it a perfect introductory volume for a lay reader. His introductory chapter “What is Jewish Philosophy" alone is worth the price of the book because it surveys the wide variety of approaches of Jewish philosophy. There is, as Dr. Jospe makes very clear, no single, uniform Jewish philosophy. Thus, many Jews who understand this, become confused, throw up their hands and ask, "If so, what should I believe?" Jospe's excellent book helps people reach an answer."

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
PREFACE Publicly Available Download PDF	xi
INTRODUCTION Publicly Available Download PDF	xii
Section I. FOUNDATIONS
Chapter One. What is Jewish Philosophy? Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	3
Chapter Two. Sa‘adiah Ga’on and the Kalam Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	45
Chapter Three. Jewish Neoplatonism: Isaac Israeli and Solomon ibn Gabirol Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	79
Chapter Four. Bahya ibn Paquda: The Duties of the Heart Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	132
Section II. TRANSITIONS
Chapter Five. Philosophical Exegesis of the Bible: Abraham ibn Ezra Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	177
Chapter Six. Judah Ha-Levi and the Critique of Philosophy Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	237
Chapter Seven. The Transition to Aristotelianism: Abraham ibn Da’ud Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	320
Section III. RAMBAM
Chapter Eight. Principles of Judaism Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	345
Chapter Nine. The Guide of the Perplexed: On God Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	400
Chapter Ten. The Guide of the Perplexed: On the World and Humans Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	465
Section IV. THE CONTROVERSY OVER PHILOSOPHY AND RAMBAM
Chapter Eleven. The Controversy over Philosophy and Rambam Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	551
Appendices
Appendix I. Cosmology: The Spheres And Emanation Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	573
Appendix II. The Categories Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	580
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	582

Language: English
Publisher: Academic Studies Press
Audience: Professional and scholarly;General/trade;
Pages
- Main content: 620

eBook

Published: June 1, 2009
ISBN: 9781618110152