On Corporeal Form 589. Abraham Ibn Daud-And Maimonides
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TALMUDIC STUDIES Ephraim Kanarfogel
chapter 22 TALMUDIC STUDIES ephraim kanarfogel TRANSITIONS FROM THE EAST, AND THE NASCENT CENTERS IN NORTH AFRICA, SPAIN, AND ITALY The history and development of the study of the Oral Law following the completion of the Babylonian Talmud remain shrouded in mystery. Although significant Geonim from Babylonia and Palestine during the eighth and ninth centuries have been identified, the extent to which their writings reached Europe, and the channels through which they passed, remain somewhat unclear. A fragile consensus suggests that, at least initi- ally, rabbinic teachings and rulings from Eretz Israel traveled most directly to centers in Italy and later to Germany (Ashkenaz), while those of Babylonia emerged predominantly in the western Sephardic milieu of Spain and North Africa.1 To be sure, leading Sephardic talmudists prior to, and even during, the eleventh century were not yet to be found primarily within Europe. Hai ben Sherira Gaon (d. 1038), who penned an array of talmudic commen- taries in addition to his protean output of responsa and halakhic mono- graphs, was the last of the Geonim who flourished in Baghdad.2 The family 1 See Avraham Grossman, “Zik˙atah shel Yahadut Ashkenaz ‘el Erets Yisra’el,” Shalem 3 (1981), 57–92; Grossman, “When Did the Hegemony of Eretz Yisra’el Cease in Italy?” in E. Fleischer, M. A. Friedman, and Joel Kraemer, eds., Mas’at Mosheh: Studies in Jewish and Moslem Culture Presented to Moshe Gil [Hebrew] (Jerusalem, 1998), 143–57; Israel Ta- Shma’s review essays in K˙ ryat Sefer 56 (1981), 344–52, and Zion 61 (1996), 231–7; Ta-Shma, Kneset Mehkarim, vol. -
Medieval Jewish Philosophy and Its Literary Forms'
H-Judaic Lawee on Hughes and Robinson, 'Medieval Jewish Philosophy and Its Literary Forms' Review published on Monday, March 16, 2020 Aaron W. Hughes, James T. Robinson, eds. Medieval Jewish Philosophy and Its Literary Forms. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2019. viii + 363 pp. $100.00 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-253-04252-1. Reviewed by Eric Lawee (Bar-Ilan University)Published on H-Judaic (March, 2020) Commissioned by Barbara Krawcowicz (Norwegian University of Science and Technology) Printable Version: http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showpdf.php?id=54753 Among the religious and intellectual innovations in which medieval Judaism abounds, none sparked controversy more than the attempt of certain rabbis and scholars to promote teachings of ancient Greek philosophy. Most notable, of course, was Moses Maimonides, the foremost legist and theologian of the age. Not only did he cultivate Greco-Arabic philosophy and science, but he also taught the radical proposition that knowledge of some of its branches was essential for a true understanding of revealed scripture and for worship of God in its purest form. As an object of modern scholarship, medieval philosophy has not suffered from a lack of attention. Since the advent of Wissenschaft des Judentums more than a century and half ago, studies have proliferated, whether on specific topics (e.g., theories of creation), leading figures (e.g., Saadiah Gaon, Judah Halevi, Maimonides), or the historical, religious, and intellectual settings in which Jewish engagements with philosophy occurred—first in -
Classical Age”
THE CULTURE OF DIVERSITY AND MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING IN ARAB ISLAMIC THOUGHT DURING THE “CLASSICAL AGE” Said Bensaid al Alaoui I – Introduction he “Classical Age” – in the sense that we use the term – refers to the period between the birth Tof Arab Islamic culture and the stage when it reached the pinnacle of its power and prosperity. Today we usually describe it as the “Arab Islamic heritage”. When we consider that heritage, we find that – regardless of how dynamic and productive it has been at certain times during the course of its existence – we are unable to place it in a particular historical period. For example, while we can say that “’Asr al Tadris” (the “Age of Scholarship”) saw the birth and burgeoning of numerous branches of Islamic knowledge – all of them related to the Holy Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Prophet (particularly Hadith) – it would also be true to say that numerous other sciences associated with the Islamic heritage did not reach their zenith until later, when they began to emerge fully fledged in various parts of the Islamic world. Academic from Morocco. 35 THE CULTURE OF DIVERSITY AND MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING IN ARAB ISLAMIC It would also be wrong to tie the heritage exclusively to “’Asr al Tadwin” (the “Age of Literary Output”), since this would ignore the numerous Islamic sciences that saw the light of day during the fourth and fifth centuries AH, as well as the previously unrecognized centres of learning – such as Cairo, Cordoba and Fez (to name but a few) – in which those sciences came to fruition. -
Bibliography of Medieval Islamic Philosophy D
BIBLIOGRAPHY OF MEDIEVAL ISLAMIC PHILOSOPHY D. BLACK, CPAMP PROSEMINAR: APRIL 6, 2009 Reference works covering Islamic philosophy A Companion to Philosophy in the Middle Ages. Ed. J. Gracia and T. Noone. Malden, Mass.: Blackwell, 2003. (Includes entries on major Islamic figures known to the West.) The Dictionary of Literary Biography, Vol. 115: Medieval Philosophers. Ed. Jeremiah Hackett. Detroit and London: Bruccoli, Clark, Layman, 1992. (Includes many of the major figures among medieval Islamic philosophers.) Encyclopedia of the History of Arabic Science. Ed R. Rashed and R. Morelon. London and New York: Routledge, 1996. Encyclopaedia Iranica. Ed. Ehsan Yarshater. New York: Routledge and Kegan Paul; Bibliotheca Persica Press, 1982–. (Excellent articles on Avicenna and Farabi; best overview of the latter’s biography.) The Encyclopaedia of Islam.1 5 vols. Leipzig and Leiden, 1913–38. The Encyclopaedia of Islam.2 Leiden, 1954–. Encyclopedia of Religion. Ed. M. Eliade. New York: Macmillan, 1987. (Good articles on both philosophers and mutakallimūn.) The Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Ed. Paul Edwards. New York: Macmillan, 1967. (Contains some articles on Islamic philosophy.) The Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Ed. Edward Craig. 10 vols. London and New York: Routledge, 1998. (Has a full complement of articles on Islamic philosophy, both by figures and by areas of philosophy. Somewhat uneven.) The Stanford Online Encyclopedia of Philosophy. First round of articles on Arabic-Islamic Philosophy is now online. Indices and Bibliographies By far the best bibliographies are those of Druart and Marmura, now being regularly updated online by Druart. In researching any topic in the field, the best course of action is probably to begin with Butterworth and the Druart-Marmura articles and then check out Druart’s updates for more recent material. -
ARABIC THOUGHT and ISLAMIC SOCIETIES This Page Intentionally Left Blank ARABIC THOUGHT and ISLAMIC SOCIETIES
ROUTLEDGE LIBRARY EDITIONS: POLITICS OF ISLAM ARABIC THOUGHT AND ISLAMIC SOCIETIES This page intentionally left blank ARABIC THOUGHT AND ISLAMIC SOCIETIES AZIZ AL-AZMEH Volume 1 First published in 1986 This edition first published in 2013 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 1986 Aziz Al-Azmeh All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN: 978-0-415-64437-2 (Set) eISBN: 978-0-203-07906-5 (Set) ISBN: 978-0-415-83072-0 (Volume 1) eISBN: 978-0-203-38146-5 (Volume 1) Publisher’s Note The publisher has gone to great lengths to ensure the quality of this reprint but points out that some imperfections in the original copies may be apparent. Disclaimer The publisher has made every effort to trace copyright holders and would welcome correspondence from those they have been unable to trace. Arabic Thought and Islamic Societies EXETER ARABIC AND ISLAMIC SERIES Arabic Thought and Islamic Societies Aziz Al-Azmeh ARABIC THOUGHT and ISLAMIC SOCIETICS AZIZ AL-AZMEH CROOM HELM London Sydney Dover, New Hampshire @ 1986 Aziz Al-Azmeh Croom Helm Ltd, Provident House, Burrell Row, Beckenham, Kent BR3 I AT Croom Helm Australia Pty Ltd, Suite 4, 6th Floor, 64-76 Kippax Street, Surry Hills, NSW 2010, Australia British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Al-Azmeh, Aziz Arabic thought and Islamic societies. -
Philosophy As a Path to Happiness
CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by Helsingin yliopiston digitaalinen arkisto Philosophy as a Path to Happiness Attainment of Happiness in Arabic Peripatetic and Ismaili Philosophy Janne Mattila ACADEMIC DISSERTATION To be publicly discussed, by due permission of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Helsinki in auditorium XII, University main building, on the 13th of June, 2011 at 12 o’clock. ISBN 978-952-92-9077-2 (paperback) ISBN 978-952-10-7001-3 (PDF) http://ethesis.helsinki.fi/ Helsinki University Print Helsinki 2011 2 Abstract The aim of this study is to explore the idea of philosophy as a path to happiness in medieval Arabic philosophy. The starting point is in comparison of two distinct currents within Arabic philosophy between the 10th and early 11th centuries, Peripatetic philosophy, represented by al-Fārābī and Ibn Sīnā, and Ismaili philosophy represented by al-Kirmānī and the Brethren of Purity. These two distinct groups of sources initially offer two contrasting views about philosophy. The attitude of the Peripatetic philosophers is rationalistic and secular in spirit, whereas for the Ismailis philosophy represents the esoteric truth behind revelation. Still, the two currents of thought converge in their view that the ultimate purpose of philosophy lies in its ability to lead man towards happiness. Moreover, they share a common concept of happiness as a contemplative ideal of human perfection, merged together with the Neoplatonic goal of the soul’s reascent to the spiritual world. Finally, for both happiness refers primarily to an otherworldly state thereby becoming a philosophical interpretation of the Quranic accounts of the afterlife. -
Against the Heteronomy of Halakhah: Hermann Cohen's Implicit Rejection of Kant's Critique of Judaism
Against the Heteronomy of Halakhah: Hermann Cohen’s Implicit Rejection of Kant’s Critique of Judaism George Y. Kohler* “Moses did not make religion a part of virtue, but he saw and ordained the virtues to be part of religion…” Josephus, Against Apion 2.17 Hermann Cohen (1842–1918) was arguably the only Jewish philosopher of modernity whose standing within the general philosophical developments of the West equals his enormous impact on Jewish thought. Cohen founded the influential Marburg school of Neo-Kantianism, the leading trend in German Kathederphilosophie in the second half of the nineteenth and the first decade of the twentieth century. Marburg Neo-Kantianism cultivated an overtly ethical, that is, anti-Marxist, and anti-materialist socialism that for Cohen increasingly concurred with his philosophical reading of messianic Judaism. Cohen’s Jewish philosophical theology, elaborated during the last decades of his life, culminated in his famous Religion of Reason out of the Sources of Judaism, published posthumously in 1919.1 Here, Cohen translated his neo-Kantian philosophical position back into classical Jewish terms that he had extracted from Judaism with the help of the progressive line of thought running from * Bar-Ilan University, Department of Jewish Thought. 1 Hermann Cohen, Religion der Vernunft aus den Quellen des Judentums, first edition, Leipzig: Fock, 1919. I refer to the second edition, Frankfurt: Kaufmann, 1929. English translation by Simon Kaplan, Religion of Reason out of the Sources of Judaism (New York: Ungar, 1972). Henceforth this book will be referred to as RR, with reference to the English translation by Kaplan given after the German in square brackets. -
Islamic Influences in Lull's Logic
ISLAMIC INFLUENCES IN LULL'S LOGIC CHARLES LOHR Universitat de Freiburg ilB I. IDEAS DERIVING FROM ARABIC LOGIC That Ramon Lull was, at the beginning of his career, strongly influenced by the Islamic tradition of Aristotelian logic is an incontrovertible fact. One of the very first works which Lull composed was the Compendium lo- gicae Algazelis, a compendium based on a treatise on logic written by al- Ghazáli, a Persian theologian roughly contemporary with Anselm of Canter- bury. Some years ago, I was able to show that Lull based this work on the treatise on logic from al-Ghazáli's Maqüsid al-falüsifa, an Aristotelian ency- clopedia based in turn on Avicenna's Persian Dünish nümeh. The works of Avicenna and al-Ghaziili are both made up of three treatises: logic, meta- physics, and natural philosophy. Al-Ghazáli's intention in making his adap- tation of Avicenna's work was to refute its teaching, a task he undertook in his celebrated Tahüfut al-falüsifa or <cDestructionof the Philosophers,,. We do not know whether Lull was acquainted with al-Ghazáli's intention nor whether ke knew the Tahüfut al-tahüfut or ccDestruction of the Destruc- tionn of Averroes which it called forth. His work covered, in any event, only the section on logic. His compendium was based on the Arabic original of Al-Ghazáli's work and was itself composed in Arabic. In its original form it seems to have been arranged in three sections: 1) On Universals, 2) On Pro- positions. 3) On Argumentation, following the division of logic according the three operations of the mind which had been introduced by Avicenna. -
3 Al-Farabi, Avicenna, and Averroes in Hebrew: Remarks on the Indirect Transmission of Arabic-Islamic Philosophy in Medieval Judaism
3 Al-FArAbi, AvicennA, And Averroes in Hebrew: remArks on tHe indirect trAnsmission oF ArAbic-islAmic PHilosophy in medievAl JudAism James T. Robinson erhaps as early as the eighth century, in the Islamic East, the traditional Sanskrit tales about the Buddha’s enlightenment—about his recognition of his own mortality and training with an ascetic monk—were translated into Persian and Arabic. The Arabic version, entitled Bilawhar wa-Būdhāsaf, then served as Pthe basis for renderings into Georgian, Greek, Latin, Hebrew, and a long list of European vernacular languages.1 These renderings were, more often than not, not straightforward translations but adaptations, often introducing significant modifications into the frame narrative. The Greek version, for example, transformed Bilawhar—an ascetic teacher—into Barlaam, a saintly Christian monk, and his disciple Budasaf or Yudasaf—the Buddha—into Joasaph or Josaphat, a saintly Christian Neophyte.2 The Hebrew version is no less surprising than the Greek, when Bilawhar be- comes not a Jewish sage but a Neoplatonic philosopher, and his 1 For the Arabic and Persian versions, see D. Gimaret (1972); D. Gimaret (1971). See also S. M. Stern and S. Walzer (1971). For the Georgian and Greek versions, see: D. M. Lang (1957), idem (1966); John Damascene (1914). The Hebrew version was edited by A. M. Habermann (1951), with extensive apparatus and commentary. For the vernacular versions, see most recently the studies of the German and English versions: S. Calomino (1990); K. Ikegami (1999). 2 In fact, both Barlaam and Joasaph/Josaphat became Christian saints. 60 The Judeo-Christian-Islamic Heritage final lesson to his young disciple is not a lesson in religious prac- tice but an introduction to neoplatonic metaphysics, based on the Arabic versions of Plotinus—namely, that complex of texts associated with the Theology of Aristotle.3 This is one example of the indirect transmission of Greek and Arabic philosophy in medieval Judaism. -
The Agent Intellect As" Form for Us" and Averroes's. Critique of Al-Farabi
Tópicos, Revista de Filosofía ISSN: 0188-6649 [email protected] Universidad Panamericana México Taylor, Richard C. The Agent Intellect as "form for us" and Averroes's. Critique of al-Farabi Tópicos, Revista de Filosofía, núm. 29, 2005, pp. 29-51 Universidad Panamericana Distrito Federal, México Available in: http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=323027318003 How to cite Complete issue Scientific Information System More information about this article Network of Scientific Journals from Latin America, the Caribbean, Spain and Portugal Journal's homepage in redalyc.org Non-profit academic project, developed under the open access initiative The Agent Intellect as "form for us" and Averroes's Critique of al-FarabT Richard C. Taylor Marquette University This article explicates Averroes's understanding of human knowing and abstraction in this three commentaries on Aristotle's De Anima. While Averroes's views on the nature of the human material intellect changes through the three commentaries until he reaches is famous view of the unity of the material intellect as one for all human beings, his view of the agent intellect as 'form for us' is sustained throughout these works. In his Long Commentary on the De Anima he reveals his dependence on al-Farabi for this notion and provides a detailed critique of the Farabian notion that the agent intellect is 'form for us' only as agent cause, not as our true formal cause. Although Averroes argues that the agent intellect must somehow be intrinsic to us as our form since humans 2tieper se rational and undertake acts of knowing by will, his view is shown to rest on an equivocal use of the notion of formal cause. -
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See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329572822 Interpretation in Muslim Philosophy Book · January 2012 CITATIONS READS 0 323 1 author: Abduljaleel Alwali United Arab Emirates University 3 PUBLICATIONS 0 CITATIONS SEE PROFILE All content following this page was uploaded by Abduljaleel Alwali on 11 December 2018. The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file. Interpretation in Muslim Philosophy By Prof. Abdul Jaleel Kadhim Al Wali Philosophy Department Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences United Arab Emirates University Al Ain Abu Dhabi UAE Phone: +971-50-663-6703 [email protected] Abstract Muslim philosophers had been preoccupied with the question of interpretation since the Islamic Philosophy was first developed by its founder Al Kindi till its interpretative maturity by Ibn Rushd who represents the maturity of rationalism in Islamic Arab philosophy. Rational option was the most suitable for Arab Muslim civilization as it expresses the vitality of civilization and its ability to interact with other contemporary civilizations and trends. Islamic philosophy interpretation themes are various as they adopted the following terms: 1. Interpreting the approval of the Greek philosophy in Muslim culture. 2. Interpreting the relationship between religion and philosophy. 3. Interpreting the relationship between Mind and Mind ( Plato and Aristotle ) 4. Interpreting the relationship between nature and Metaphysics. The goals of interpretation for Muslim philosophers are different as Al Kind pointed that they are oriented towards the Greek philosophy in general and towards religion and philosophy in particular while Al Farabi pointed that they are oriented towards the Greek philosophy in general and towards Plato and Aristotle. -
Competing Tropes of Eleventh-Century Andalusi Jewish Culture*
Competing Tropes of Eleventh-Century Andalusi Jewish Culture* Ross Brann Judaism and the Jews, whose very names are determined by ties of memory to a particular place (Judea), embraced the concept of diaspora out of political, religious, and historical necessity. Following the exile of Judean elites to Babylonia in 587 BCE, the idea of diaspora became enmeshed in a complex bundle of remembered and imagined experiences such as destruction and dispossession along with decidedly ahistorical aspirations such as redemption and return.1 Diaspora thus became a critical feature of the dialectic of Jewish history in that it described the current state of the Jews' dispersion and sense of rupture with a past "pristine age" yet reinforced their expectation and hope that it was destined to come to an end with the "ingathering of the exiles." Jews of very different literary, intellectual, and spiritual orientations treated Exile/Diaspora as the central trope of Jewish experience. How was this trope handled in Andalusi-Jewish culture?2 Here, I am concerned * This essay is a revised version of a talk presented at the University of California (Berkeley), the University of Washington (Seattle), King's College (London), Yale University, and Cornell University. 1 "Scattering," "dispersal" [Ezekiel 36:19: "I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed through the countries"], and recuperation [Ezekiel 36:24: "I will take you from among the nations and gather you from all the countries, and I will bring you back to your own land"] are already inscribed as tropes in the biblical literature of the first exile after 587 BCE.