Maimonides: Flirting With Judaic Rationalism

Moses Maimonides was a 12th century Spanish Jew, whose work remains the pillar of Judaic rationalism. His magnum opus – The Guide of the Perplexed – attempts to reconcile the revealed and prophetic sacred texts of Judaism, with the rigorous metaphysics of ancient Greece, via an engagement with some of the most gifted Islamic philosophers. In this episode, I claim that such a melting pot of great civilisations is both beautiful and necessary, partly because it so powerfully disarms the view that different civilisations are destined to clash rather than cross-pollinate – a view which seems to be dominating our contemporary global landscape. However, in a curious way, my flirtation with Maimonides goes beyond history and culture and into the very heart of his Judaic rationalism.

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