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.
| |||||||||||||||
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
"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.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Origins,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
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
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Inside This Book
(learn more)
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs):
(learn more)
transition from potency, object willed, preexistent matter, parte post, parte ante, eternal emanation, temporal creation, disorderly motion, divine volition, eternal creation, prime matter, temporal beginning, first intelligence, natural causation, outermost sphere Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Prime Mover, Genesis Rabbah, Mishneh Torah, Guide of the Perplexed, Seymour Feldman, Plato's Cosmology, City of God, Middle Ages, Alexander Altmann, Elements of Theology, Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi Gamaliel, Alfred Ivry, Aristotle's God, Aviezer Ravitzky, Basic Principles of the Torah, David Winston, Harvard Theological Review, John Dillon, Joseph Owens, Letter Concerning Divine Science, Plato's Demiurge, Posterior Analytics, Sara Klein-Braslavy, Secret Position New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
transition from potency, object willed, preexistent matter, parte post, parte ante, eternal emanation, temporal creation, disorderly motion, divine volition, eternal creation, prime matter, temporal beginning, first intelligence, natural causation, outermost sphere Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Prime Mover, Genesis Rabbah, Mishneh Torah, Guide of the Perplexed, Seymour Feldman, Plato's Cosmology, City of God, Middle Ages, Alexander Altmann, Elements of Theology, Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi Gamaliel, Alfred Ivry, Aristotle's God, Aviezer Ravitzky, Basic Principles of the Torah, David Winston, Harvard Theological Review, John Dillon, Joseph Owens, Letter Concerning Divine Science, Plato's Demiurge, Posterior Analytics, Sara Klein-Braslavy, Secret Position New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 50
books:
See all 50 books this book cites
2
books
cite this book:
- The Guide of the Perplexed, Vol. 1 by Moses Maimonides on 12 pages
- The Elements of Theology: A Revised Text with Translation, Introduction, and Commentary (Clarendon Paperbacks) by Proclus on 5 pages
- On Generation and Corruption by Aristotle on 5 pages
- Plato And The Older Academy by Eduard Zeller on page 45, page 48, and Back Matter
- The Middle Platonists (Classical Life and Letters) by John M. Dillon on page 12, page 48, and Back Matter
See all 50 books this book cites
Books on Related Topics
(learn more)
|
|
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product).
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
