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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
at all; 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.
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On
two audiotapes - about three hours in length.
Narrator: Lynn Redgrave
Author: Professor Idit Dobbs-Weinstein
Editor: Professor John Lachs and
Wendy McElroy
Publisher: Knowledge Products, Inc.
This
title is part of the Audio Classics Series by
Knowledge Products. Knowledge Products publishes a variety of
audio presentations on the great ideas and events of history.
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