Although Maimonides' discussion of creation is one of his greatest contributions - he himself claims that belief in creation is second in importance only to belief in God - there is still considerable debate on what that contribution was. Kenneth Seeskin takes a close look at the problems Maimonides faced and the sources from which he drew. He argues that Maimonides meant exactly what he said: the world was created by a free act of God so that the existence of everything other than God is contingent. In religious terms, existence is a gift. In order to reach this conclusion, Seeskin examines Maimonides' view of God, miracles, the limits of human knowledge, and the claims of astronomy to be a science. Clearly written and closely argued, Maimonides on the Origin of the World takes up questions of perennial interest.
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"This is an excellent piece of work, easily up to the usual high standard of the author's output. The topic is a very controversial one in Jewish philosophy...so it is a major point of interest in the area. What Seeskin does well is run through the whole philosophical background to the issue in Maimonides, in so far as it it impinged on him, and this is very useful. The discussion of the whole context within which Maimonides produced his views is uniformly rigorous, balanced, and enlightening."
-Oliver Leaman, University of Kentucky
"...a brilliant book."
-Choice
"Seeskin's book is a solid contribution to the growing literature on the greatest of the medieval Jewish thinkers . . . "
-Daniel H. Frank, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews
"This is a lucid, learned, and valuable contribution to Maimonidean scholarship and a particularly useful book for teaching Maimonides to advance undergraduate and graduate students...Seeskin's recuperation of a more traditional Maimonides for whom divine will transcends divine wisdom has the double advantage of being interpretatively convincing while also bearing the promise of a Maimonidean phenomenology of creation as gift."
-Michael Fagenblat, Monash University, Journal of Medieval Studies
"...a forceful, learned and articulate presentation of the issue." --Alfred L. Ivry, New York University: Philosophy in Review
-Oliver Leaman, University of Kentucky
"...a brilliant book."
-Choice
"Seeskin's book is a solid contribution to the growing literature on the greatest of the medieval Jewish thinkers . . . "
-Daniel H. Frank, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews
"This is a lucid, learned, and valuable contribution to Maimonidean scholarship and a particularly useful book for teaching Maimonides to advance undergraduate and graduate students...Seeskin's recuperation of a more traditional Maimonides for whom divine will transcends divine wisdom has the double advantage of being interpretatively convincing while also bearing the promise of a Maimonidean phenomenology of creation as gift."
-Michael Fagenblat, Monash University, Journal of Medieval Studies
"...a forceful, learned and articulate presentation of the issue." --Alfred L. Ivry, New York University: Philosophy in Review
Book Description
Although Maimonides' discussion of creation is one of his greatest philosophic contributions - he himself claims that belief in creation is second in importance only to belief in God - there is still considerable debate on what the contribution was. Kenneth Seeskin takes a close look at the problems Maimonides faced.
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This review is from: Maimonides on the Origin of the World (Paperback)
A very clearly written book on the issues. The exposition of Maimonides's views is also very well structured. However, the argument is sometimes thin
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transition from potency, preexistent matter, object willed, parte post, eternal emanation, parte ante, temporal creation, disorderly motion, divine volition, eternal creation, prime matter Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Prime Mover, Mishneh Torah, Genesis Rabbah, Guide of the Perplexed, Seymour Feldman, Plato's Cosmology, Alexander Altmann, City of God, Elements of Theology, Middle Ages, Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi Gamaliel, Alfred Ivry, Aristotle's God, Aviezer Ravitzky, Basic Principles of the Torah, David Winston, Harvard Theological Review, John Dillon, Leo Strauss, Maimonidean Studies, Plato's Demiurge, Secret Position, Some Further Reflections, Third Approach New!
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Surprise Me!
transition from potency, preexistent matter, object willed, parte post, eternal emanation, parte ante, temporal creation, disorderly motion, divine volition, eternal creation, prime matter Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Prime Mover, Mishneh Torah, Genesis Rabbah, Guide of the Perplexed, Seymour Feldman, Plato's Cosmology, Alexander Altmann, City of God, Elements of Theology, Middle Ages, Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi Gamaliel, Alfred Ivry, Aristotle's God, Aviezer Ravitzky, Basic Principles of the Torah, David Winston, Harvard Theological Review, John Dillon, Leo Strauss, Maimonidean Studies, Plato's Demiurge, Secret Position, Some Further Reflections, Third Approach New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Surprise Me!
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