Maimonides's "guide" on obstacles to knowledge, being, and action / Joshua Parens.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Parens, Joshua, 1961- Author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Maimonides, Moses, 1135-1204.

Maimonides, Moses.

Judaism--Works to 1900.

Judaism.

Jewish philosophy--Early works to 1800.

Jewish philosophy.

Philosophy, Medieval.

Physical Description:

viii, 309 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Macon, Georgia : Mercer University Press, [2025]

Summary:

"Maimonides's Guide of the Perplexed (pub. 1204 CE) is among the most important and elusive works in the history of Judaism. Among the greatest difficulties has been determining what genre of writing it belongs to. Leo Strauss challenged the contemporary consensus that it is a work of "Jewish philosophy." Rather, the Guide Is first and foremost a defense of the Law, or what his predecessor, whom he praised highly, Alfarabi identified as the art of kalam or dialectical theology. However, It is an unusual sort of kalam, which Strauss dubbed "intelligent kalam." Since Shlomo Pines's 1979 article on the limits of knowledge in Maimonides (as well as Alfarabi and Ibn Bajja), much of Maimonides scholarship has centered on these limits. In his book on the Guide published in 2013, Josef Stern identified two extremes on the limits of knowledge, the dogmatic and the skeptical. He expanded on Pines's skeptical reading. We provide a middle ground between these two extremes. We argue that the limits are intentionally vague, making possible thereby not only a defense of the Law but also a defense of philosophy. The second part concerns the three great themes of the Guide: creation, prophecy, and providence. Maimonides's preferred position on prophecy is that God can will to prevent it. It is unlikely to be coincidental that obstacles, impediments, prevention are also crucial in his accounts of creation and providence. We show that obstacles or privation are a key to these themes and the Guide as a whole"-- Provided by publisher.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version Parens, Joshua, 1961- Maimonides's "guide" on obstacles to knowledge, being, and action

ISBN:

9780881469639

0881469637

OCLC:

1477220117