Jewish Philosophy

This collection of 20 essays represents two symposiums held by the contributors on the renaissance in Jewish philosophy, and "Maimonides on the Eternity of the World." For this reason they are organized in two parts. In the first, the contributors consider the impact that American life has had on the dogmatism of Jewish philosophers, rejecting it for "a faithful, intellectual, but non-dogmatic or superstitious Judaism." They also take into account American pragmatist hermeneutic take on scripture, the Holocaust and the problems of historicity, philosophical theology vs. mystical anti-philosophical theology, medieval Judaism's philosophical engagement with science in contemporary America, negative theology and the American ideal of responsible liberty, and the tension between Jerusalem and Athens in Jewish philosophy. Part one concludes with two responses from the perspective of contemporary American politics and intellectual history. The second part contains more specialized essays on Mose Maimonides, the near-ancient Jewish philosopher, regarding Maimonides "true opinion" about philosophical and theological questions. They touch on creation, the identity of the Sabians, epistemology and natural science, the phenomenology of faith, and more. The contributors are mostly Jewish philosophers and academics with backgrounds in philosophy. Annotation c2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Raphael Jospe teaches at Bar-Ilan and Hebrew Universities. His books include a 3-volume Hebrew history of medieval Jewish philosophy and Jewish Philosophy: Foundations and Extensions, and Torah and Sophia: The Life and Thought of Shem Tov ibn Falaquera.Dov Schwartz is The Natali and Isidor Friedman Chair on “Teaching the Writings of Joseph Dov Soloveitchik,”Bar-Ilan University. He is the author of Religion or Halakhah?:The Philosophy of Rabbi J. B. Soloveitchik, 2007; Central Problems of Medieval Jewish Philosophy, 2005; Studies on Astral Magic in Medieval Jewish Philosophy,2005; and other texts.