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Isaac Abravanel on miracles, creation, prophecy, and evil : the tension between medieval Jewish philosophy and biblical commentary / Alfredo Fabio Borodowski.
Van Pelt Library BM755.A25 B67 2003
Available
Library at the Katz Center - Stacks BM755.A25 B67 2003
Available
Library at the Katz Center - Stacks BM755.A25 B67 2003
Available
LIBRA BM755.A25 B67 2003
Available from offsite location
- Format:
- Book
- Author/Creator:
- Borodowski, Alfredo Fabio, 1964-
- Series:
- Studies in biblical literature ; v. 53.
- Studies in biblical literature ; v. 53
- Language:
- English
- Subjects (All):
- Abravanel, Isaac, 1437-1508.
- Abravanel, Isaac.
- Miracles in rabbinical literature.
- Prophecy--Judaism.
- Prophecy.
- Jewish philosophy.
- Philosophy, Medieval.
- Miracles.
- Physical Description:
- xvi, 241 pages ; 23 cm.
- Place of Publication:
- New York : P. Lang, [2003]
- Contents:
- The Cyclical Character of Abravanel's Political and Intellectual Life 2
- Abravanel's Cultural Milieu 9
- Abravanel's Impact Upon Jewish Scholarship 16
- Abravanel as a Philosopher-Exegete 22
- The Relevance of the Supernatural as a Case Study 24
- 1 The Concept of a Miracle: The Possible and the Impossible 29
- The Concept of Possible and Impossible in Medieval Jewish Philosophy 31
- The Possible and Impossible in Abravanel's Philosophical System 39
- Conclusions: The Unifying Principles of Omnipotence 47
- The Possible Cases of the Impossible 48
- Creation Ex-Nihilo and the Proof from Language 50
- Imagination and Intellect as Measures of the Impossible 50
- Creation as the Archetypal Miracle 53
- Naturalistic and Anti-Naturalistic Doctrines of Creation and Miracles 54
- The Relative Nature of Induction 57
- Miracles and Causality: The Muslim Connection 60
- The Case of the Fire 61
- The Deceiving Power of Observation 62
- The Possibility of a Non-Burning Fire 66
- The Hidden Burner 68
- Induction and a Miraculous Exception 70
- The Impossible Nature of Inference 73
- The Possible Nature of Possibility: The Possible as Active, Independent and Imaginary 75
- Possibility as Inherent in the Agent 75
- Passive Possibilities as Mental Constructions 76
- The Particular Character of Natural Generation 77
- Summary and Conclusions: Possibility as an Equivocal Term 77
- 2 Miracles and the Possibility of Ex-Nihilo Creation 79
- Abravanel: Miracles as Unnatural Irruptions 80
- Gersonides: Miracles as a Natural Anomaly 81
- Abravanel's Rejection of Gersonides' Severance of Miracles and Creation 85
- Does Gersonides Believe in Miracles? 86
- 3 Miracles and the Divine Will: A Philosophical Midrash 92
- The Problem: The Difficult Interplay of Divine Attributes 92
- The Case of Creation, Miracles and Divine Will 94
- The Maimonidean Solution: "To Will and not to Will," That is the Question 96
- Gersonides and the Optimistic View of the Intellect 99
- Gersonides' "Miraculous" Solution 100
- Miracles, Divine Will, and a Midrashic Discrepancy 102
- Abravanel's Rejection of the Fixed Nature of Miracles 106
- Theory of the Preservation of Divine Justice 106
- Theory of the Prophetic Proof 108
- Rejection from the Non-Existence of Universals 109
- Rejection from the Perpetual Character of Nature 110
- Rejection from the Literal Understanding of the Scriptures 111
- Rejection from a Reasonable Interpretation of the Rabbinical Sources 111
- Rejection from Other Rabbinical Sources 112
- Abravanel's Interpretation: A Transference from Nature to the Divine Mind 114
- The Problem of the Twilight Exceptions 116
- Is There a Real Difference Between Gersonides' and Abravanel's Positions? 122
- 4 Miracles and Free Will 126
- 5 Agency 135
- The Common Ground: The Undisputed Agency 135
- The Dispute over the Identity of the Agent 136
- Gersonides' Arguments for the Agency of the Agent Intellect 136
- Abravanel's Rejection of Gersonides' Argument for the Agency of the Agent Intellect 138
- The Fundamental Disagreement: The Intervention of the Agent Intellect 141
- The Agent Intellect and the Problem of Immediate and Remote Causality 145
- The Systemic Origin of Abravanel's and Gersonides' Disagreement Concerning Agency 152
- 6 The Controversy over the Purpose of Miracles 154
- Teleological Theories and the Origin of Evil 154
- Methodological Considerations 156
- The Problem of the Multiplicity of Purposes 156
- The Crucial Difference: Purpose and Goodness 159
- Teleology and the Theological Dimension of Evil 160
- Does Gersonides, as Abravanel Maintains, Really Reject the Punitive Character of Miracles? 166
- 7 Prophecy and Miracles 169
- The Third Alternative: Prophecy and the Agency of Miracles 169
- The Disagreement: The Extent of Prophetic Intervention 174
- The Nature of Mosaic Prophecy: A Philosophical-Theological Midrash 176
- Abravanel on Mosaic Prophecy 181
- Abravanel's Rejection of Gersonides' Interpretation 181
- The Literal Meaning 181
- "All Miracles are Equal in Respect to God" 184
- The Beneficial Purpose of Stopping the Sun and the Moon 185
- Abravanel's Preservation of Moses' Superiority 187
- The Nature of Mosaic Prophecy 190
- Mosaic Prophecy in Light of Deuteronomy 191
- A Strange Abravanelian Interpretation of Moses' Miracles 197
- A Solution: The Coexistence of Prophetic and Miraculous Superiority 205
- 8 Final Words: The Dynamics of Scripture and Philosophy 210
- Abravanel as a Philosopher-Exegete 213
- Usage of Philosophical Language 213
- Knowledge of Philosophical Doctrines 213
- Knowledge of The Mifa'lot 215.
- Notes:
- Includes bibliographical references (pages [219]-233) and index.
- Local Notes:
- Acquired for the Penn Libraries with assistance from the Anne and Joseph Trachtman Memorial Book Fund.
- ISBN:
- 0820462365
- OCLC:
- 50291144
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