Before Maimonides. A New Philosophical Dialogue in Hebrew

Y. Tzvi Langermann

Éditeur : Brill

Parution : 20 octobre 2023

Author: Y. Tzvi Langermann

All can agree that the achievement of Moses Maimonides (d. 1204) set the standard for subsequent works of “Jewish philosophy”. But just what were the contours of philosophical-scientific inquiry that Maimonides replaced? A fairly large array of diverse texts have been studied, but no comprehensive picture has yet emerged. The newly discovered Hebrew dialogue published here has points of contact of various depth with most of the major works of pre-Maimonidean thought. It shares as well influences from without, especially from the Islamic kalam. The dialogue thus presents, in an engaging literary form, a clear and detailed snapshot of pre-Maimonidean philosophy and science.

Series: Études sur le judaïsme médiéval, Volume: 96

Editors: Paul B. Fenton, Phillip I. Lieberman, Benjamin H. Hary, and Katja Vehlow

Established 50 years ago by the late Georges Vajda, the series Études sur le judaïsme médiéval, while specialising in Rabbanite and Qaraite texts in Hebrew, Judaeo-Arabic and Judaeo-Persian, publishes scholarly monographs, collective volumes, conference proceedings, as well as editions and translation in all areas of Medieval Jewish literature, philosophy, science, exegesis, ethics, polemics, mysticism and Genizah studies, focusing on the philological and philosophical approach. The series also publishes two separate subseries, Cambridge Genizah and Karaite Texts and Studies.