Maimonides & Medieval Jewish Philosophy

by Idit Dobbs-Weinstein, Lynn Redgrave (Reader)

The first significant Jewish philosopher is recognized as Philo (ca 13 BC - 45/50 AD), who lived in Alexandria, Egypt. His biblical commentaries (written in Greek) powerfully influenced Christian philosophy; in fact, Philo is considered the forerunner of "biblical exegesis," a Christian tradition of critically explaining and interpreting scripture. Philo said the lower, literal level of interpretation applies to the perfection of the body, while the higher allegorical or symbolic level applies to the perfection of the soul.

Sa'adia ben Joseph al-Fayyumi (892-942) preserved and enlivened a dying Jewish tradition by translating the Hebrew Bible (The Torah) into Arabic. He wrote polemics in response to sectarian Jews; pedagogical works as head of the Academy in Sura, Babylonia; and philosophical works, including The Book of Doctrines and Beliefs. Sa'adia argued that the four roots of knowledge are the senses, reason, inference, and reliable tradition, and he said there can be no real conflict between reason and revelation. Sa'adia wrote that complete or reliable knowledge of the divine is not available to humans, so we must rely on speculative inquiry about the highest and most valuable aspects of knowledge.

Moses ben Maimon (1138-1204), popularly known as Maimonides, was a physician, jurist, philosopher and spiritual authority for exiled Jewish communities. Maimonides believed that the prophets were most perfectly knowledgeable, but he also admired Aristotle and the Islamic philosopher al-Farabi. He insisted that God is a perfect, incorporeal unity that has no attributes atall; to speak of God's characteristics, features, or attributes is idolatry. Humans cannot know what God is; we can only know what God is not, and that there is a radical distinction between God and human beings. Maimonides defended a theory of creation ex nihilo (or "out of nothing"), arguing that a provident, omniscient God uniquely created "first matter." Maimonides associated eternity and immortality with permanent intellect, which he said is perfectible when unconstrained by human mortality.

Genres: Philosophy, History, Judaism, Audiobook, Religion, Nonfiction

Audiobook

First published July 15, 2006

About the author

Idit Dobbs-Weinstein is a philosopher with a special interest in Maimonides, Spinoza, Benjamin, and Adorno.

Reviews

[Matthew Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely not an entertaining piece of writing considering its strict academic approach, but it was interesting to hear about some of the perspectives of these philosophers. Maimonides makes my head hurt, but man is he brilliant.

[Dennis · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a very interesting overview of 2 Jewish philosophers.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maimonides' "Guide to the Perplexed" is one of the foremost texts on Jewish philosophy, medieval or otherwise. However, reading it is no easy task, and fully understanding all of the implications even less so. This audiobook helps put things in context, both philosophical and historical, and uses multiple narrators to bring the content to life and attempt to wade through the ideas.

[Alex Shrugged · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this audiobook and I wanted to love it, but I just can't quite bring myself to do it. There were small technical errors here and there, or if they were not errors, then they went unexplained.

I think I would listen to this audiobook again. Maybe I would change my mind on a second read.

[Damian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, very good

[Billy Sheppard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Worth hearing as history of philosophy.

[Jesse · Rating 2 out of 5]

Avoid unless you love Jewish and Greek Philosophy. This book is quite academic and not written for normies. I found it interesting yet hard to get through.