PHL 210: Faith and Philosophy

This volume presents a comprehensive anthology of classic writings on Jewish philosophy from the Bible to postmodernism. The book is divided into four sections: ancient, medieval, modern and contemporary Jewish philosophy. Each section is clearly introduced by the editors and includes writings from the leading figures of Jewish thought.

This Companion presents all the major Jewish thinkers of the period, the philosophical and non-philosophical contexts of their thought, and the interactions between Jewish and non-Jewish philosophers. It is a comprehensive introduction to a vital period of Jewish intellectual history.

There is a long tradition of discussion in the philosophy of religion about the problems and possibilities involved in talking about God. In this volume, philosophers from Britain, Israel and the US bring these interpretive techniques together and present important accounts of the problem of referring to God within Christian, Jewish and Islamic philosophy.

This work examines the notion that monotheism is not so much a claim about the number of God as a claim about the nature of God. Seeskin argues that the idea of a God who is separate from his creation and unique is not just an abstraction but a suitable basis for worship. He examines this conclusion in the contexts of prayer, creation, sabbath observance, repentance, religious freedom, and love of God. Maimonides plays a central role in the argument both because of his importance to Jewish self-understanding and because he deals with the question of how philosophic ideas are embodied in religious ritual.