OPPapers.com Essay Index >> Philosophy >> Jewish Philosophy
We have many free term papers and essays on Jewish Philosophy. We also have a wide variety of research papers and book reports available to you for free. You can browse our collection of term papers or use our search engine.
Jewish Philosophy. Jewish philosophy Jewish philosophy refers to the conjunction
between serious study of philosophy and Jewish theology. ...
... between Christian and non-Christian philosophers There has been considerable
interaction between Christian philosophy, Jewish philosophy and Islamic philosophy ...
... New York: Cornell University Press, 1969. Blau, Joseph L. The Story of Jewish
Philosophy. New York: KTAV Publishing House, Inc. 1971 Borges, Jorge Luis. ...
... Jewish philosophy in the Arab world in the classical period The oldest
religio-philosophical work preserved is that of the 123ish philosopher Saadia Gaon ( ...
... disclaimer) Mentioned In jewish principles faith is mentioned in the following
topics: Judaism in Israel Aryeh Kaplan Jewish philosophy divine simplicity ...
Submitted by jk123 on August 17, 2006
Category: Philosophy
Words: 3743 | Pages: 15
Views: 642
Popularity Rank: 11,747
Average Member Grade: N/A (Add a Comment / Grade this Paper)
Jewish philosophy
Jewish philosophy refers to the conjunction between serious study of philosophy and Jewish theology.
Accepting the results of a given Jewish philosophy will lead to accepting a particular Jewish principle of faith. As with any fusion of religion and philosophy, the attempt is difficult because classical philosophers start with no preconditions for which conclusions they must reach in their investigation, while classical religious believers have a set of religious principles of faith that they hold one must believe.
Some maintain, however, that in reality this critisicm is incorrectly solely directed at religious philosophy. Rabbi Eliyahu Eliezer Dessler (Strive for Truth Vol. 1) contends that no human being can possibly claim objectivity in philosophical investigations with moral implications: "..a person senses in advance that the answer will make a significant difference...On the solution will depend whether he will be obliged for the rest of his life to struggle with his baser desires...or whether he will be able to live without a higher responsibility". On this basis Dessler maintains that only those who have spent years concentrating on the subjugation of their desires to their intellect, can even begin to claim intellectual impartiality. Indeed, according to this it is more likely for religious philosophy to succeed in attaining the truth then secular philosophy.
Some, however, hold that one cannot simultaneously be a philosopher and a true adherent of a revealed religion. In this view, all attempts at synthesis ultimately fail. For example, Rabbi Nachman of Breslov a Hasidic mystic views all philosophy as untrue and heretical. Approaching this point of view from the opposite direction, Baruch Spinoza, a pantheist, views revealed religion as inferior to philosophy, and thus saw traditional Jewish philosophy as an intellectual failure.
Others hold that a synthesis...
You must Login to view the entire paper.
If you are not a member yet, Sign Up for free!