Maimonides the rationalist / Herbert A. Davidson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Davidson, Herbert A. (Herbert Alan), 1932-2021.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Jewish philosophy.

Philosophy, Medieval.

Maimonides, Moses, 1135-1204.

Maimonides, Moses.

Physical Description:

318 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Oxford ; Portland, Or. : Littman Library of Jewish Civilization, 2011.

Summary:

"The chapters in this volume focus on the philosophical aspects of Maimonides' work: the religious obligation to study philosophy, Maimonides' knowledge of the philosophical literature, and certain fundamental issues where philosophy and religion intersect."--ECIP summary.

Contents:

1 The Study of Philosophy as a Religious Obligation 1

2 The First Two Positive Divine Commandments 15

1 The 613 Commandments 15

2 Four Writers on the Commandments Prior to Maimonides 22

3 Maimonides 34

4 What Followed 39

3 Maimonides' Knowledge of the Philosophical Literature in his Rabbinic Period 53

1 Background 53

2 Neoplatonism 55

3 Kalam 59

4 Aristotle 62

5 The Arabic Aristotelians 82

6 Summary 83

4 Maimonides' Shemonah perakim and Alfarabi's Fusul Muntaza'a 85

5 Maimonides' Knowledge of the Philosophical Literature in his Later Period 99

1 Kalam 99

2 Aristotle 104

3 The Commentators on Aristotle 144

4 Other Greek Philosophers 159

5 The Arabic Philosophers 165

6 Medieval Jewish Thinkers 169

7 Summary 171

6 Maimonides on Metaphysical Knowledge 173

1 Introduction 173

2 Alfarabi's Lost Commentary on the Nicomachean Ethics 176

3 Ibn Bajja's Position on Metaphysical Knowledge 183

4 The Moreh nevukhim on Metaphysical Knowledge 189

5 The Active Intellect as the Form that the Human Intellect Thinks; Conjunction with the Active Intellect 201

6 The Manner Whereby Metaphysical Knowledge Can Be Acquired 206

7 Summary 210

7 A Problematic Sentence in Moreh nevukhim, ii. 24 212

1 The Setting 212

2 The Problematic Sentence 217

3 Ibn Tibbon's Emendation 221

4 Other Proposed Solutions 226

5 The Solution 232

8 Maimonides' Ethical Systems 235

1 Commentary on the Mishnah; Shemonah perakim 235

2 The Mishneh torah 242

3 Moreh nevukhim 247

4 Possible Explanations 255

5 The Closing Paragraphs of the Moreh nevukhim 263

6 Summary 266

9 Maimonides the Rationalist 268

1 Rationalist Exegesis of Scripture 272

2 Rationalist Exegesis of Aggadah 278

3 Rationalism and Halakhah 282

4 Monotheism and History 292

5 Intellectual Worship of God 294.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781904113584

1904113583

OCLC:

148625963