Maimonides »

T. M. Rudavsky is Professor of Philosophy at The Ohio State University. She specializes in medieval Jewish philosophy, and is the author of Time Matters: Creation, Time and Cosmology in Medieval Jewish Philosophy (2000). She has edited three volumes: Divine Omniscience and Omnipotence in Medieval Philosophy: Islamic, Jewish, and Christian Perspectives (1984); Gender and Judaism: Tradition and Transformation (1995); and The Cambridge History of Medieval Jewish Philosophy (co-edited with Steven Nadler, 2009). In addition, she has written numerous articles pertaining to medieval Jewish philosophy.

This pioneering guide to Maimonides incorporates material from his philosophical, legal, and medical works, thus providing a synoptic picture of the philosophical views of one of the most important Jewish thinkers of all time. The book covers a broad range of topics, including divine predication, proofs for the existence of God, Maimonides’ theory of creation, prophecy and miracles, the problem of evil and divine providence, moral theory and the rationality of the law. Rudavsky makes a persuasive case that Maimonides saw himself as being engaged in philosophical dialogue, drawing not only upon his own Jewish tradition, but also upon the ideas of ancient Greek and Islamic philosophers.

Unparalleled in scope and accessibility, this concise volume is an invaluable resource for students and scholars of Medieval Philosophy, Jewish Philosophy, and Jewish Studies, as well as non-specialists coming to Maimonides for the first time.

preface vii

abbreviations xiii

1 life and works 1

2 language, logic, and the art of demonstration 19

3 what we can say about God 36

4 philosophical cosmology 61

5 philosophical anthropology 85

6 naturalism and supernaturalism: prophecy, miracles, and divine will 110

7 philosophical theology: divine providence, human freedom, and theodicy 137

8 morality, politics, and the law 161

9 on human felicity 184

bibliography 198

index 219