Maimonides in His World

Portrait of a Mediterranean Thinker
Erscheinungsjahr 2011
ISBN: 978-0-691-15252-3
Verlag: Princeton University Press

Buch, Englisch, 248 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm, Gewicht: 425 g

Reihe: Jews, Christians, and Muslims from the Ancient to the Modern World

While the great medieval philosopher, theologian, and physician Maimonides is acknowledged as a leading Jewish thinker, his intellectual contacts with his surrounding world are often described as related primarily to Islamic philosophy. Maimonides in His World challenges this view by revealing him to have wholeheartedly lived, breathed, and espoused the rich Mediterranean culture of his time.Sarah Stroumsa argues that Maimonides is most accurately viewed as a Mediterranean thinker who consistently interpreted his own Jewish tradition in contemporary multicultural terms. Maimonides spent his entire life in the Mediterranean region, and the religious and philosophical traditions that fed his thought were those of the wider world in which he lived. Stroumsa demonstrates that he was deeply influenced not only by Islamic philosophy but by Islamic culture as a whole, evidence of which she finds in his philosophy as well as his correspondence and legal and scientific writings. She begins with a concise biography of Maimonides, then carefully examines key aspects of his thought, including his approach to religion and the complex world of theology and religious ideas he encountered among Jews, Christians, Muslims, and even heretics; his views about science; the immense and unacknowledged impact of the Almohads on his thought; and his vision of human perfection.This insightful cultural biography restores Maimonides to his rightful place among medieval philosophers and affirms his central relevance to the study of medieval Islam.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Stroumsa, Sarah

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Jüdische Studien Jüdische Studien
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Geschichte der Westlichen Philosophie Mittelalterliche & Scholastische Philosophie
• Geisteswissenschaften Islam & Islamische Studien Islam: Philosophie & Wissenschaften
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Nicht-Westliche Philosophie Islamische & Arabische Philosophie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Preface xi

Acknowledgments xvii

Abbreviations xix

Chapter One: Maimonides and Mediterranean Culture 1

Mediterranean Cultures 3

Maimonides as a Mediterranean Thinker 6

Horizons 13

Transformations in the Jewish World 18

Maimonides and Saadia 22

Chapter Two: The Theological Context of Maimonides? Thought 24

Islamic Theology 24

Heresies, Jewish and Muslim 38

Chapter Three: An Almohad "Fundamentalist"? 53

Almohads 53

Maimonides and the Almohads 59

Legal Aspects 61

Theology 70

Exegesis and Political Philosophy 73

Philosophy and Astronomy 80

Conclusion 82

Chapter Four: La Longue Dur?e: Maimonides as a Phenomenologist of Religion 84

Sabians 84

Maimonides as an Historian of Religion 106

"A Wise and Understanding People?": The Religion of the People 111

Chapter Five: A Critical Mind: Maimonides as Scientist 125

Medicine and Science 125

"Ravings": Maimonides? Concept of Pseudo-Science 138

Chapter Six: "From Moses to Moses": Maimonides? Vision of Perfection 153

"True Felicity": The Hereafter in Maimonides? Thought 153

Issues of Life and Death:

The Controversy Regarding Resurrection 165

"Gates for the Righteous Nation": The Philosopher as Leader 183

Conclusion 189

Bibliography 193

Index 219

Über Autor(innen)

Stroumsa, Sarah
Sarah Stroumsa is the Alice and Jack Ormut Professor of Arabic Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where she currently serves as rector. Her books include "Freethinkers of Medieval Islam".