Table Of Content’
Maimonides Guide of the Perplexed
Moses Maimonides’ Guide of the Perplexed (c. ) is the greatest and
most influential text in the history of Jewish philosophy. Controversial in
its day, the Guide directly influenced Aquinas, Spinoza, and Leibniz, and
the history of Jewish philosophy took a decisive turn after its appearance.
While there continues to be keen interest in Maimonides and his philos-
ophy, thisis the first scholarlycollection in English devotedspecifically to
theGuide.Itincludescontributionsfromaninternationalteamofscholars
addressing the most important philosophical themes that range over the
three parts of this sprawling work – including topics in the philosophy of
language, metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of law, ethics, and polit-
ical philosophy. There are also essays on the Guide’s hermeneutic puzzles,
and on its overall structure and philosophical trajectory. The volume will
be of interest to philosophers, Judaists, theologians, and medievalists.
daniel frank is Professor of Philosophy at Purdue University. His
publications include The Cambridge Companion to Medieval Jewish
Philosophy (with Oliver Leaman, Cambridge, ), and Spinoza on
Politics (with Jason Waller, ).
aaron segal is Lecturer in the Department of Philosophy at The
Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is co-editor of Jewish Philosophy
Past and Present: Contemporary Responses to Classical Sources (with Daniel
Frank, ), and Jewish Philosophy in an Analytic Age (with Samuel
Lebens and Dani Rabinowitz, ).
cambridge critical guides
Titles Published in this series:
Hume’s An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals
editedbyesther engelskroeker andwillem lemmens
Hobbes’s On the Citizen
edited by robin douglass and ohan olsthoorn
Hegel’s Philosophy of Spirit
edited by marina f. bykova
Kant’s Lectures on Metaphysics
edited by courtney d. fugate
Spinoza’s Political Treatise
edited by yitzhak y. melamed and hasana sharp
Aquinas’s Summa Theologiae
edited by jeffrey hause
Aristotle’s Generation of Animals
edited by andrea falcon and david lefebvre
Hegel’s Elements of the Philosophy of Right
edited by david james
Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason
edited by james r. o'shea
Spinoza’s Ethics
edited by yitzhak y. melamed
Plato’s Symposium
edited by pierre destre´e and zina giannopoulou
Fichte’s Foundations of Natural Right
edited by gabriel gottlieb
Aquinas’s Disputed Questions on Evil
edited by m. v. dougherty
(Continued after the Index)
’
MAIMONIDES
Guide of the Perplexed
A Critical Guide
daniel frank
PurdueUniversity
aaron segal
HebrewUniversityofJerusalem
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Contents
List of Contributors page vii
Introduction
daniel frank and aaron segal
part i form
The Structure and Purpose of the Guide
daniel frank
The Guide as Biblical Commentary
igor h. de souza
part ii human beginnings
Paradise and the Fall
shira weiss
Maimonides on the Nature of Good and Evil
daniel rynhold
part iii the creator
The Scope of Metaphysics
daniel davies and charles h. manekin
His Existence Is Essentiality: Maimonides as Metaphysician
aaron segal
“Whereof One Cannot Speak”
silvia jonas
v
vi Contents
part iv the created
Creation and Miracles in the Guide
t. m. rudavsky
The Prophetic Method in the Guide
dani rabinowitz
Maimonides’ Modalities
josef stern
part v human finitude
Maimonides’ Critique of Anthropocentrism and Teleology
warren zev harvey
Maimonides and the Problem(s) of Evil
david shatz
part vi human ends
The Nature and Purpose of Divine Law
moshe halbertal
Maimonides on Human Perfection and the Love of God
steven nadler
Bibliography
Index
Contributors
daniel davies is Research Associate in the Institute for Jewish
Philosophy and Religion at Universität Hamburg
igor h. de souza is Lecturer in English and Humanities at Yale
University
daniel frank is Professor of Philosophy at Purdue University
moshe halbertal is Professor of Philosophy and Jewish Thought at
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
warren zev harvey is Professor Emeritus of Jewish Thought at The
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
silvia jonas isMarieSkłodowskaCurieFellowattheMunichCenterfor
Mathematical Philosophy at Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich
charles h. manekin is Professor of Philosophy at University of
Maryland
steven nadler isWilliamH.HayIIProfessorofPhilosophyandEvjue-
Bascom Professor in Humanities at University of Wisconsin–Madison
dani rabinowitz is a solicitor at Clifford Chance LLP
t. m. rudavsky isProfessor ofPhilosophy atThe OhioState University
daniel rynhold is Professor in Modern Jewish Philosophy at the
Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies at Yeshiva University
aaron segal is Lecturer in Philosophy at The Hebrew University of
Jerusalem
vii
viii List of Contributors
david shatz is Ronald P. Stanton University Professor of Philosophy,
Ethics, and Religious Thought at Yeshiva University
josef stern is William H. Colvin Professor of Philosophy Emeritus at
The University of Chicago
shira weiss is Academic Fellow at the Center for Hebraic Thought
