Gersonides' Afterlife

Gersonides' Afterlife
Author: Ofer Elior
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 691
Release: 2020-06-29
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9004425284

Gersonides’ Afterlife is the first full-scale treatment of the reception of one of the greatest scientific minds of medieval Judaism: Gersonides (1288–1344). An outstanding representative of the Hebrew Jewish culture that then flourished in southern France, Gersonides wrote on mathematics, logic, astronomy, astrology, physical science, metaphysics and theology, and commented on almost the entire bible. His strong-minded attempt to integrate these different areas of study into a unitary system of thought was deeply rooted in the Aristotelian tradition and yet innovative in many respects, and thus elicited diverse and often impassionate reactions. For the first time, the twenty-one papers collected here describe Gersonides’ impact in all fields of his activity and the reactions from his contemporaries up to present-day religious Zionism.

Medieval Jewish Philosophy and Its Literary Forms

Medieval Jewish Philosophy and Its Literary Forms
Author: Aaron W. Hughes
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Total Pages: 374
Release: 2019-07-11
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 0253042550

“This well-written, accessible [essay] collection demonstrates a maturation in Jewish studies and medieval philosophy” (Choice). Too often the study of philosophical texts is carried out in ways that do not pay significant attention to how the ideas contained within them are presented, articulated, and developed. This was not always the case. The contributors to this collected work consider Jewish philosophy in the medieval period, when new genres and forms of written expression were flourishing in the wake of renewed interest in ancient philosophy. Many medieval Jewish philosophers were highly accomplished poets, for example, and made conscious efforts to write in a poetic style. This volume turns attention to the connections that medieval Jewish thinkers made between the literary, the exegetical, the philosophical, and the mystical to shed light on the creativity and diversity of medieval thought. As they broaden the scope of what counts as medieval Jewish philosophy, the essays collected here consider questions about how an argument is formed, how text is put into the service of philosophy, and the social and intellectual environment in which philosophical texts were produced.

Perspectives on Jewish Thought and Mysticism

Perspectives on Jewish Thought and Mysticism
Author: Alfred L. Ivry
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 548
Release: 2013-10-28
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 1136650121

First Published in 1998. This is the proceedings of the International Conference held by The Institute of Jewish Studies, University College London, 1994, in Celebration of its Fortieth Anniversary. Dedicated to the memory and academic legacy of its Founder Alexander Altmann.

Without Any Doubt

Without Any Doubt
Author: Sara Klein-Braslavy
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 361
Release: 2011-06-09
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9004206523

This book collects eight articles on the thought and method of Gersonides (Provence, 1288-1344). They deal with: his methods of inquiry and composition; his use of introductions; his method in the supercommentaries on Averroes; and his methods of biblical exegesis.

Studies on Gersonides

Studies on Gersonides
Author: Gad Freudenthal
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 454
Release: 1992
Genre: Science
ISBN: 9789004096417

R. Levi ben Gershom (Gersonides, 1288-1344) is one of the greatest figures of Medieval Jewish thought. He wrote numerous works in philosophy, science and Biblical exegesis. Some of his scientific works, most notably his highly original Astronomy, were translated from Hebrew into Latin and could thus reach non Jewish scholars. The papers collected in this bilingual volume (English and French in equal parts) offer for a first time a comprehensive overview and assessment of Gersonides' scientific work. Since for Gersonides science and philosophy formed a unity, the volume adopts a broad notion of science, including, in addition to astronomy, mathematics and logic, also physics and psychology. The various studies analyze Gersonides' contributions to these disciplines, situate them in the context of Greek-Arabic philosophy and science as translated into Hebrew, and describe their subsequent reception. The volume also includes a very extensive bibliography of writings by and about Gersonides.

Prophecy

Prophecy
Author: Howard Kreisel
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 681
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 9401008205

More than any other topic, prophecy represents the point at which the Divine meets the human, the Absolute meets the relative. How can a human being attain the Word of God? In what manner does God, when conceived as eternal and transcendent, address corporeal, transitory creatures? What happens to God's divine Truth when it is beheld by minds limited in their power to apprehend, and influenced by the intellectual currents of their time and place? How were these issues viewed by the great Jewish philosophers of the past, who took the divine communication and all it entails seriously, while at the same time desired to understand it as much as humanly possible in the course of dealing with a myriad of other issues that occupied their attention? This book offers an in-depth study of prophecy in the thought of seven of the leading medieval Jewish philosophers: R. Saadiah Gaon, R. Judah Halevi, Maimonides, Gersonides, R. Hasdai Crescas, R. Joseph Albo and Baruch Spinoza. It attempts to capture the `original voice' of these thinkers by looking at the intellectual milieus in which they developed their philosophies, and by carefully analyzing their views in their textual contexts. It also deals with the relation between the earlier approaches and the later ones. Overall, this book presents a significant model for narrating the history of an idea.

Gersonides

Gersonides
Author: Seymour Feldman
Publisher: Liverpool University Press
Total Pages: 269
Release: 2015-09-03
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1789624800

The philosopher, astronomer, and biblical exegete known both as Gersonides and Ralbag (1288-1344) wrote a veritable library of works that testify not only to the breadth of his intellectual concerns but to his attempt to forge a synthesis between the secular sciences and Judaism. This is the first English-language study to assess his place and significance for Jewish thought, and it offers a comprehensive picture of his philosophy that is both descriptive and evaluative.

Studies on Astral Magic in Medieval Jewish Thought

Studies on Astral Magic in Medieval Jewish Thought
Author: Dov Schwartz
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 268
Release: 2021-11-29
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9047406885

Astral magic is shown to be a major influence in Jewish medieval thought. The book traces its winding course in the work of such figures as Judah Halevi, Nahmanides and others, and provides a new perspective on medieval Jewish rationalism.

A History of Jewish Philosophy in the Middle Ages

A History of Jewish Philosophy in the Middle Ages
Author: Colette Sirat
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 502
Release: 1990-11-30
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 9780521397278

This comprehensive survey of medieval Jewish philosophy provides in-depth coverage for such major figures as Saadiah Gaon, Maimonides, Abraham Ibn Ezra, Judah Halevi, Abraham Ibn Daoud and Gersonides.

The Cultures of Maimonideanism

The Cultures of Maimonideanism
Author: James T. Robinson
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 453
Release: 2009
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9004174508

In the history of Jewish thought, no individual scholar has exercised more influence than Maimonides (1138-1204) philosopher and physician, legal scholar and communal leader. This collection of papers, originating at the 2007 EAJS colloquium, places primary emphasis on this influence not on Maimonides himself but the many movements he inspired. Using Maimonideanism as an interpretive lens, the authors of this volume representing a variety of fields and disciplines develop new approaches to and fresh perspectives on the peculiar dynamic of Judaism and philosophy. Focusing on social and cultural processes as well as philosophical ideas and arguments, they point toward an original reconceptualization of Jewish thought.