Law, Reason, and Morality in Medieval Jewish Philosophy

1. Auflage 2010
ISBN: 978-0-19-954283-3
Verlag: OUP Oxford

Buch, Englisch, 246 Seiten, Format (B × H): 145 mm x 222 mm, Gewicht: 483 g

Places medieval Jewish moral thought in relation to influential approaches such as practical wisdom and natural law
Provides in depth analysis of the thought of Saadia Gaon, Bahya ibn Pakuda, and Moses Maimonides and highlights their rationalism
Connects themes and issues in medieval thought with contemporary philosophical debates
Focuses on central concerns of moral psychology and metaethics

The medieval Jewish philosophers Saadia Gaon, Bahya ibn Pakuda, and Moses Maimonides made significant contributions to moral philosophy in ways that remain relevant today.

Jonathan Jacobs explicates shared, general features of the thought of these thinkers and also highlights their distinctive contributions to understanding moral thought and moral life. The rationalism of these thinkers is a key to their views. They argued that seeking rational understanding of Torah>'s commandments and the created order is crucial to fulfilling the covenant with God, and that intellectual activity and ethical activity form a spiral of mutual reinforcement. In their view, rational comprehension and ethical action jointly constitute a life of holiness. Their insights are important in their own right and are also relevant to enduring issues in moral epistemology and moral psychology, resonating even in the contemporary context.

The central concerns of this study include (i) the relations between revelation and rational justification, (ii) the roles of intellectual virtue and ethical virtue in human perfection, (iii) the implications of theistic commitments for topics such as freedom of the will, the acquisition of virtues and vices, repentance, humility, and forgiveness, (iv) contrasts between medieval Jewish moral thought and the practical wisdom approach to moral philosophy and the natural law approach to it, and (v) the universality and objectivity of moral elements of Torah.

Zielgruppe

Students and scholars of Medieval Jewish thought; of moral philosophy

Autoren/Hrsg.

Jacobs, Jonathan

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Geschichte der Westlichen Philosophie Mittelalterliche & Scholastische Philosophie
• Geisteswissenschaften Jüdische Studien Geschichte des Judentums Geschichte des Judentums: Mittelalter
• Geisteswissenschaften Jüdische Studien Jüdische Studien Jüdische Studien: Philosophie, Aufklärung, Wissenschaften

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Preface
Introduction
1: Athens, Jerusalem, and Jewish Moral Thought
2: Freedom of the Will, Covenant, and Moral Capability
3: Moral Psychology, Revelation, and Virtue
4: Jewish Moral Thought and Practical Wisdom
5: Requirements, Ideals, and Divine Commands
6: Judaism and Natural Law: Some Background Considerations
7: 'The Reasons of the Commandments' and Natural Law
Bibliography

Über Autor(innen)

Jacobs, Jonathan
Jonathan Jacobs, Director of the Institute for Criminal Justice Ethics, and Professor of Philosophy, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, The City University of New York