Averroes And Averroism In Medieval Jewish Thought

The present volume explores how and why Averroes, a Muslim philosopher and jurist, became one of the most important figures in the history of Jewish philosophy.

The Andalusian Muslim philosopher Averroes (1126–1198) is known for his authoritative commentaries on Aristotle and for his challenging ideas about the relationship between philosophy and religion, and the place of religion in society. Among Jewish authors, he found many admirers and just as many harsh critics. This volume brings together, for the first time, essays investigating Averroes’s complex reception, in different philosophical topics and among several Jewish authors, with special attention to its relation to the reception of Maimonides.

This volume deals with central issues of medieval Jewish philosophy. Among the subjects treated are divine immanence, the intellect, miracles, and esoteric writing and its limits. This work provides a new perspective on the history of Jewish philosophy in the Middle Ages.

The tension between reason and revelation has occupied Jewish philosophers for centuries, who were committed, on the one hand, to defending Judaism, and, on the other hand, to remaining loyal to philosophical principles. Maimonides is considered the most prominent Jewish religious philosopher, whose aim was to reconcile philosophy, in particular Aristotelian philosophy, with the fundamental principles of Judaism. But many other Jewish thinkers, before and after him, also struggled with this task, raising the question whether it is possible to attain this reconciliation. The connection between philosophy and religion was often not an obvious one. As a consequence, it could serve in some cases as grounds for supporting Maimonides’ project, while in others it could lead to rejection. Scepticism and Anti septicism in Medieval Jewish Thought focuses on sceptical questions, methods, strategies, and approaches raised by Jewish thinkers in the Middle Ages. In a series of lectures, we examine the variety of attitudes presented by these thinkers, as well as the latest readings of contemporary scholars concerning those attitudes.

Beginning with the earliest philosopher of the Middle Ages, Saadiah ben Joseph al-Fayyumi, this work surveys the writings of such figures as Solomon ben Joseph ibn Gabirol, Bahya ben Joseph ibn Pakuda, Abraham ben david Halevi ibn Daud, Judah Halevi, Moses Maimonides, Gersonides, Hasdai Crescas, Simon ben Zemah Duran, Joseph Albo, Isaac Arama, and Isaac Abrabanel. Throughout an attempt is made to place these thinkers in an historical context and describe their contributions to the history of Jewish medieval thought in simple and lucid terms. The book is directed to students enrolled in Jewish studies courses as well as to those who seek an awareness and appreciation of the riches of medieval Jewish philosophical tradition.

To date, scholars have skilfully discussed aspects of Polqar’s thought, and yet none of the existing studies offers a comprehensive examination that covers Polqar’s thought in its entirety. This book aims to fill this lacuna by tracing and contextualizing both Polqar’s Islamic sources (al-Fārābī, Avicenna, and Averroes) and his Jewish sources (Maimonides and Isaac Albalag). The study brings to light three of Polqar’s main purposes; (1) seeking to defend Judaism as a true religion against Christianity; (2) similarly to his fellow Jewish Averroists, Polqar wishes to defend the discipline of philosophy. By philosophy, Polqar means Averroes' interpretation of Aristotle. As a consequence, he offers an Averroistic interpretation of Judaism and becomes one of the main representatives of Jewish Averroism; (3) defending his philosophical interpretation of Judaism. From a social and political point of view, Polqar's unreserved embrace of philosophy raised problems within the Jewish community; he had to refute the Jewish traditionalists’ charge that he was a heretic, led astray by philosophy. The main objective guiding this study is that Polqar advances a systematic naturalistic interpretation of Judaism, which in many cases does not agree with traditional Jewish views. "Haliva’s lucid, learned, and incisive monograph on the thought of Isaac Polqar is the first comprehensive study devoted to this important, but neglected fourteenth century Jewish Averroist. It makes a significant contribution to our knowledge of post-Maimonidean medieval Jewish philosophy. Haliva convincingly shows that while Polqar claims to follow Maimonides, he consistently pushes his thought in a more radical direction, offering a severely naturalistic interpretation of Jewish religious principles and refusing to make any concessions to more traditional theological modes of thought. Her study leads us to ask whether it is possible to uphold such an uncompromising philosophical and naturalistic reading of Judaism as that of Polqar, that is, whether it does justice to the Jewish religious principles it purports to interpret and enables us to maintain the authority of traditional Halakhah." Lawrence J. Kaplan, McGill University, Montreal "Racheli Haliva's excellent book is the first comprehensive study of the philosophy of Isaac Polqar (late thirteenth-early fourteenth century). Polqar emerges as a radical and creative thinker–a fascinating link between the philosophy of Averroes and Maimonides and that of Spinoza." Warren Zev Harvey, Hebrew University of Jerusalem "Haliva's groundbreaking book is the first comprehensive study of Polqar's intellectual world, forged in the crucible of the late Middle Ages where Greco-Arabic philosophy and the Maimonidean legacy meet inner-Jewish and anti-Christian polemics. Polqar, Haliva demonstrates, was a formidable thinker in his own right who critically engages with Maimonides and Averroes. At the same time, he defends the Jewish faith as the only true religion of reason--against Kabbalists and Jewish traditionalists and against his former teacher, Abner of Burgos, whose conversion to Christianity was a major intellectual shock. This is a meticulously researched and lucidly argued scholarly contribution that fills a crucial gap in the history of Jewish philosophy." Carlos Fraenkel, McGill University, Montreal

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.