Medieval Jewish Philosophy and Its Literary Forms

by Aaron W. Hughes (Editor), James T. Robinson (Editor)

Overview

1. This collections looks at medieval Jewish philosophy in a new light, with a fresh set of questions to frame current debates.

2. It takes a literary approach, focusing on philosophy as literature.

3. The editors of the volume are senior scholars in Jewish studies and Jewish philosophy. Contributors include top scholars in philosophy, Jewish studies, religious studies, and related fields.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780253042545
Publisher:	Indiana University Press
Publication date:	03/12/2021
Series:	New Jewish Philosophy and Thought
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	374
File size:	2 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Kalman P. Bland (1942–2017) was Professor Emeritus in the Department of Religious Studies at Duke University. His publications include The Epistle on the Possibility of Conjunction with the Active Intellect by Ibn Rushd with the Commentary by Moses Narboni and The Artless Jew: Medieval and Modern Affirmations and Denials of the Visual.

Raphael Dascalu is an Adjunct Research Associate at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia.

Igor H. de Souza is Lecturer in Humanities, Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, and Associate Research Scholar in Judaic Studies, Yale University. He is author of Rewriting Maimonides: Early Commentaries on the Guide of the Perplexed.

Yehuda Halper is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Jewish Philosophy at Bar Ilan University. He is the recipient of the Yigal Alon Fellowship and editor of Philosophy and the Jewish Tradition: Lectures and Essays by Aryeh Leo Motzkin.

Steven Harvey is Professor Emeritus of Medieval Jewish and Islamic Philosophy at Bar-Ilan University. He is author of Falaquera's Epistle of the Debate: An Introduction to Jewish Philosophy.

Gyongyi (Ginger) Hegedus is Associate Professor at the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Western University (London, Ontario). She is author of Saadya Gaon: The Double Path of the Mystic and the Rationalist.
Aaron W. Hughes is the Philip S. Bernstein Professor of Jewish Studies at the University of Rochester. He is the author of many books, including Rethinking Jewish Philosophy: Beyond Particularism and Universalism.

Maud Kozodoy currently works for the Posen Foundation on the editorial staff of the Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization. She is author of The Secret Faith of Maestre Honoratus: Profayt Duran and Jewish Identity in Late Medieval Iberia.

Charles H. Manekin is professor of Philosophy at the University of Maryland. He is editor (with Daniel Davies) of Interpreting Maimonides.

Chaim Meir Neria is a lecturer at Oranim College of Education, Israel.

James Theodore Robinson is the Caroline E. Haskell Professor of the History of Judaism, Islamic Studies, and the History of Religions at the University of Chicago Divinity School. He is the author of several books and articles on medieval Jewish philosophy, literature, and biblical exegesis.

Shira Weiss is a postdoctoral fellow in the department of Jewish Thought at Ben Gurion University. She is author of Joseph Albo on Free Choice: Exegetical Innovation in Medieval Jewish Philosophy, as well as articles in Jewish Quarterly Review, Journal of Religious Ethics and Journal of Jewish Ethics.

Table of Contents

Introduction / Aaron W. Hughes and James T. Robinson

1. Animal Fables and Medieval Jewish Philosophy / Kalman P. Bland, z'l

2. Biblical Commentaries as a Genre of Jewish Philosophical Writing / Raphael Dascalu

3. Commentaries on The Guide of the Perplexed: A Brief Literary History / Igor H. de Souza

4. Philosophical Commentary and Supercommentary: The Hebrew Aristotelean Commentaries of the Fourteenth through Sixteenth Centuries / Yehuda Halper

5. The Author's Haqdamah as a Literary Form in Jewish Thought / Steven Harvey

6. Does Judaism Make Sense? Early Medieval Kalām as Literature / Gyongyi Hegedus

7. Dialogues / Aaron W. Hughes

8. Poetry / Aaron W. Hughes

9. Poetic Summaries of Scientific and Philosophical Works / Maud Kozodoy

10. The Philosophical Epistle as a Genre of Medieval Jewish Philosophy / Charles Manekin

11. The Sermon in Late Medieval Jewish Thought as Method for Popularizing Philosophy / Chaim Meir Neria

12. Lexicons and Lexicography in Medieval Jewish Philosophy / James T. Robinson

13. Theological Summas in Late Medieval Jewish Philosophy / Shira Weiss

Index

What People are Saying About This

"

Explores very crucial question that have been given their due and in the process shatters some stereotypes about what it means to do philosophy. The essays make a strong argument for considering genre not simply as a matter of style, but as a matter of substance.

"

James A. Diamond

Explores very crucial question that have been given their due and in the process shatters some stereotypes about what it means to do philosophy. The essays make a strong argument for considering genre not simply as a matter of style, but as a matter of substance.

author of The Legacy of Hans Jonas: Judaism an Hava Tirosh-Samuelson

Succinctly put, this book argues that form matters. When medieval Jewish philosophy is analyzed as a socially constructed practice, it emerges as nuanced, complex, compelling, and meaningful, inviting Jews and non-Jews to appreciate it anew.

Hava Tirosh-Samuelson

Succinctly put, this book argues that form matters. When medieval Jewish philosophy is analyzed as a socially constructed practice, it emerges as nuanced, complex, compelling, and meaningful, inviting Jews and non-Jews to appreciate it anew.

author of Maimonides and the Shaping of the Jewish James A. Diamond

Explores very crucial question that have been given their due and in the process shatters some stereotypes about what it means to do philosophy. The essays make a strong argument for considering genre not simply as a matter of style, but as a matter of substance.

Editorial Reviews

"Explores very crucial question that have been given their due and in the process shatters some stereotypes about what it means to do philosophy. The essays make a strong argument for considering genre not simply as a matter of style, but as a matter of substance."—James A. Diamond, author of Maimonides and the Shaping of the Jewish Canon

"Succinctly put, this book argues that form matters. When medieval Jewish philosophy is analyzed as a socially constructed practice, it emerges as nuanced, complex, compelling, and meaningful, inviting Jews and non-Jews to appreciate it anew."—Hava Tirosh-Samuelson, author of The Legacy of Hans Jonas: Judaism and the Phenomenon of Life

"This well-written, accessible collection demonstrates a maturation in Jewish studies and medieval philosophy. It convincingly opens up the canon of philosophical texts and authors, and will enrich readers' understanding of the diverse literary forms of medieval Jewish philosophical projects. . . . Highly recommended."—Choice

"Comprising sophisticated scholarship and realizing its goal of challenging conventions in the study of medieval Jewish philosophy, [Medieval Jewish Philosophy] convincingly advocates for a fruitful approach that, it may be hoped, others will be inspired to pursue."—H-Judaic

From the Publisher

Comprising sophisticated scholarship and realizing its goal of challenging conventions in the study of medieval Jewish philosophy, [Medieval Jewish Philosophy] convincingly advocates for a fruitful approach that, it may be hoped, others will be inspired to pursue.

H-Judaic

This well-written, accessible collection demonstrates a maturation in Jewish studies and medieval philosophy. It convincingly opens up the canon of philosophical texts and authors, and will enrich readers' understanding of the diverse literary forms of medieval Jewish philosophical projects. . . . Highly recommended.

Choice