Maimonides and His Heritage

Edited by Idit Dobbs-Weinstein, Lenn E. Goodman, and James Allen Grady

Subjects: Jewish Philosophy, Religion, Theology
Series: SUNY series in Jewish Philosophy
Paperback : 9780791476567, 261 pages, January 2010
Hardcover : 9780791476550, 261 pages, January 2009

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Table of contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction
List of Abbreviations
1. Maimonides as Biblical Exegete
Arthur Hyman
2. Philosophical Themes in Maimonides’ Sefer Ahavah
Menachem Kellner
3. Maimonides on Joy
Moshe Sokol
4. Maimonides’ Psychology
Alfred L. Ivry
5. Bahya and Maimonides on the Worth of Medicine
Lenn E. Goodman
6. The Ambiguity of the Imagination and the Ambivalence of Language in Maimonides and Spinoza
Idit Dobbs-Weinstein
7. The Philosophical Mysticism of Maimonides and Maimon
Gideon Freudenthal
8. Persecution and the Art of Representation: Schocken’s Maimonides Anthologies of the 1930s
Martina Urban
9. Maimonides in the Crucible of Zionism: Reflections on Yeshayahu Leibowitz’s Negative Theology
Paul Mendes-Flohr
10. Can We Be Maimonideans Today?
David Novak
Bibliography
List of Contributors
Index

Examines the Jewish philosopher’s influence on theology, philosophy, medicine, and law, and his impact on later thinkers.

Description

This volume celebrates the depth and breadth of Jewish philosopher Moses Maimonides' (1138–1204) achievements. The essays gathered here explore the rich diversity of a heritage that extends over eight hundred years, beginning with Maimonides' historical context; ranging through his distinct contributions to philosophy, theology, medicine, and Jewish law; to the impact his ideas have had on later generations. His humane perspective and commitment to intellectual rigor are reflected in the wide range of his works and his active role as a spiritual guide and intellectual leader. Maimonides' intellectual openness makes his work an enduring model of creative synthesis and critical appropriation, as well as a continuing source of intellectual stimulation not only for the many specialist scholars who scrutinize his texts but also for a wide and lively audience of nonspecialists.

Idit Dobbs-Weinstein is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University and the author of Maimonides and St. Thomas on the Limits of Reason, also published by SUNY Press. Lenn E. Goodman is Professor of Philosophy and Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities at Vanderbilt University. He is the author or editor of many books, including Aristotle's Politics Today (coedited with Robert B. Talisse); Jewish Themes in Spinoza's Philosophy (coedited with Heidi M. Ravven); and Neoplatonism and Jewish Thought, all published by SUNY Press. James Allen Grady is a PhD candidate in Philosophy and Graduate Fellow at the Center for the Study of Religion and Culture at Vanderbilt University.

Reviews

"…an important contribution to the understanding and appreciation of Maimonides … This volume is also an eclectic mix of themes and scholarship." — Jewish Book World

"The third section of the volume, on Maimonides in recent times, sets this apart from the many other books on the great man who died in 1204." — Association of Jewish Libraries Newsletter