Authors: Norbert M. Samuelson
ISBN-13: 9780826492449, ISBN-10: 0826492444
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Continuum International Publishing Group
Date Published: September 2006
Edition: 1st Edition
jewish Philosophy: An Historical Introduction surveys the history of Jewish philosophy, from the formation of the Hebrew Scriptures to the present time. The author discusses the nature of God, the origin and end of the universe, and the moral value of humanity, all from the distinct perspective of Jewish intellectual history.
The book is intended as a text for courses in Jewish philosophy, as well as for more general courses in religious thought, Judaism, and philosophy, but presupposes no prior background in these subjects. Each chapter concludes with sets of key terms and questions, along with recommendations for further reading.
Norbert M. Samuelson is the Harold and Jean Grossman Professor in Religious Studies at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona. He is the author of six books and over 200 articles, and the co-editor of three collected volumes of essays.
Tables, lists and figures | ||
1 | Introduction | 1 |
I | The Origins | 11 |
2 | Biblical history: the story of the Hebrew Scriptures | 15 |
3 | What is the Bible and how was it created? | 28 |
4 | The God of the Bible | 41 |
5 | The biblical conception of Torah | 51 |
6 | The conception of Israel as the Chosen People | 61 |
7 | The biblical view of God | 70 |
8 | Rabbinic history: from Alexander the Great to Muhammad | 81 |
9 | Major texts of rabbinic Judaism | 98 |
10 | The God of the early rabbis | 108 |
11 | The Torah of the early rabbis | 117 |
12 | The Jewish people of the early rabbis | 126 |
13 | The rabbinic view of ethics | 132 |
II | Classical Jewish Philosophy | 143 |
14 | Medieval history: from the rise of Islam to the expulsion from Christian Spain | 147 |
15 | Major texts and themes of Jewish philosophy | 159 |
16 | The composition of The Guide of the Perplexed | 177 |
17 | God and the Bible | 184 |
18 | Creation and revelation | 194 |
19 | Divine providence | 206 |
20 | The reasons for the Commandments (ta'amei he-mitsvot) | 216 |
21 | The rationalism of Gersonides | 225 |
22 | The non-rationalism of Crescas | 234 |
III | Modern Jewish Philosophy | 241 |
23 | Modern history: from Christian Spain to secular Israel | 245 |
24 | The turning point - Baruch Spinoza | 263 |
25 | Cohen and Jewish idealism | 276 |
26 | Buber and Jewish existentialism | 284 |
27 | The elements: God, world, and the human | 297 |
28 | The course: creation, revelation, and redemption | 308 |
29 | The configuration: Jewish people, Christian way, and the Kingdom of God | 315 |
Conclusion | 322 | |
30 | Jewish philosophy after Rosenzweig | 324 |
Index | 335 |