Seekers of Unity | The Forgery that Fooled the Philosophers @SeekersofUnity | Uploaded May 2022 | Updated October 2024, 1 hour ago.
Would you believe us if we told you that a ninth century forgery, attributed to one of the greatest philosophers of all time, went on to fool centuries of readers and introduce its true author, one of the greatest mystics of the west, to the world of medieval philosophy?
Exploring Maimonides' struggle with the peculiar notion of God that he adopts from the Theology of Aristotle. Join us to learn about Maimonides Apophatic/Negative Theology, Creation vs Emanation, Immanence and Transcendence, Contradiction and Humility.
Watch the rest of our “Maimonides and Mysticism” series: youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_7jcKJs6iwXUKaVOvNJWr5DSLPTYV0j9
Thank you to Shalem College for hosting this week's vid: https://shalem.ac.il/en/ and thank you to Chezi and Seth for connecting us.
00:00 The Philosopher and the Mystic
00:57 The Forgery
06:21 Neoplatonism
10:43 Primary themes of the Theology
13:30 A Theological Mix
15:28 Pure Being, Negative Theology
20:06 Creation vs Emanation
23:24 Immanence and Transcendence
24:51 Contradiction and Humility
Sources and Further Reading
Alexander Altmann, "Maimonides on the Intellect and the Scope of Metaphysics," in idem, Von der mittelalterlichen zur modernen Aufklärung, Tübingen: Mohr, 1987, 60-129, at 123.
Alfred Ivry, "Islamic and Greek Influences on Maimonides' Philosophy," in Maimonides and Philosophy, 1986, p. 149-51
Alfred Ivry, ‘Isma’ili Theology and Maimonides’ Philosophy,’ in The Jews of Medieval Islam, 1995, p. 280.
Alfred Ivry, “Neoplatonic Currents in Maimonides’ Thought,” in Perspectives on Maimonides, ed. Joel Kraemer, London: Littman, 1996, 115–140
Alfred Ivry, Maimonides’ Guide of the Perplexed: A Philosophical Guide, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2016, p. 38
Arthur Hyman, "Maimonides on Religious Language," in Perspectives on Maimonides (see note 6), 175-91
Christian Wildberg, "Neoplatonism", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2021 Edition)
Cristina D’Ancona, “The Theology attributed to Aristotle: Sources, Structure, Influence,” In The Oxford Handbook of Islamic Philosophy, New York, Oxford University Press, 2017
Cristina D'Ancona, "Pseudo- Theology of Aristotle, Chapter 1: Structure and Composition," Oriens 36 (2001): 78-112.
Cristina D'Ancona, "The Arabic “Theology of Aristotle”" In obo in Classics. 2 May. 2022.
Diana Lobel, “Silence Is Praise to You” Maimonides on Negative Theology, Looseness of Expression, and Religious Experience, in American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly vol. 76, no. 1, 2002
Elliot Wolfson “Via Negativa in Maimonides and Its Impact on Thirteenth- Century Kabbalah.” In Maimonidean Studies 5, 2008
F.W. Zimmerman, "The Origins of the So-Called Theology of Aristotle," in Pseudo-Aristotle in the Middle Ages, London: Warburg Institute, 1986, 110-24.
Herbert A. Davidson, Moses Maimonides: The Man and His Works, 2001, p. 111
Ithamar Gruenwald, “Maimonides’ Quest beyond Philosophy and Prophecy,” in Perspectives, ed. J. L. Kraemer (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996), pp. 145.
Kraemer, “Maimonides and the Spanish Aristotelian School,” p. 45
Moshe Idel, "Jewish Kabbalah and Platonism in the Middle Ages and Renaissance," in Neoplatonism and Jewish Thought, 1992, pp. 338-43;
Paul Fenton, "The Arabic and Hebrew Versions of the Theology of Aristotle,” in Pseudo-Aristotle in the Middle Ages 241-64.
Peter Adamson, The Arabic Plotinus: A Philosophical Study of the 'Theology of Aristotle,’ 2002
Philip Merlan, Monopsychism, Mysticism, Metaconsciousness: Problems of the Soul in the Neoaristotelian and Neoplatonic Tradition, The Hague: M. Nijhoff, 1969
Sarah Pessin, The Influence of Islamic Thought on Maimonides, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2005
Join us:
facebook.com/seekersofunity
instagram.com/seekersofunity
twitter.com/seekersofu
seekersofunity.com
Thank you to our beloved Patrons: Igor, Chezi, Jorge, Andrew, Alexandra, Füsun, Lucas, Andrew, Stian, Ivana, Aédàn, Darjeeling, Astarte, Declan, Gregory, Alex, Charlie, Anonymous, Joshua, Arin, Sage, Marcel, Ahawk, Yehuda, Kevin, Evan, Shahin, Al Alami, Dale, Ethan, Gerr, Effy, Noam, Ron, Shtus, Mendel, Jared, Tim, Mystic Experiment, MM, Lenny, Justin, Joshua, Jorge, Wayne, Jason, Caroline, Yaakov, Daniel, Wodenborn, Steve, Collin, Justin, Mariana, Vic, Shaw, Carlos, Nico, Isaac, Frederick, David, Ben, Rodney, Charley, Jonathan, Chelsea, Curly Joe, Adam and Andre.
Join them in supporting us:
patreon: patreon.com/seekers
paypal: paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=RKCYGQSMJFDRU
#Maimonides
#Plotinus
#Aristotle
Divine Simplicity
Would you believe us if we told you that a ninth century forgery, attributed to one of the greatest philosophers of all time, went on to fool centuries of readers and introduce its true author, one of the greatest mystics of the west, to the world of medieval philosophy?
Exploring Maimonides' struggle with the peculiar notion of God that he adopts from the Theology of Aristotle. Join us to learn about Maimonides Apophatic/Negative Theology, Creation vs Emanation, Immanence and Transcendence, Contradiction and Humility.
Watch the rest of our “Maimonides and Mysticism” series: youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_7jcKJs6iwXUKaVOvNJWr5DSLPTYV0j9
Thank you to Shalem College for hosting this week's vid: https://shalem.ac.il/en/ and thank you to Chezi and Seth for connecting us.
00:00 The Philosopher and the Mystic
00:57 The Forgery
06:21 Neoplatonism
10:43 Primary themes of the Theology
13:30 A Theological Mix
15:28 Pure Being, Negative Theology
20:06 Creation vs Emanation
23:24 Immanence and Transcendence
24:51 Contradiction and Humility
Sources and Further Reading
Alexander Altmann, "Maimonides on the Intellect and the Scope of Metaphysics," in idem, Von der mittelalterlichen zur modernen Aufklärung, Tübingen: Mohr, 1987, 60-129, at 123.
Alfred Ivry, "Islamic and Greek Influences on Maimonides' Philosophy," in Maimonides and Philosophy, 1986, p. 149-51
Alfred Ivry, ‘Isma’ili Theology and Maimonides’ Philosophy,’ in The Jews of Medieval Islam, 1995, p. 280.
Alfred Ivry, “Neoplatonic Currents in Maimonides’ Thought,” in Perspectives on Maimonides, ed. Joel Kraemer, London: Littman, 1996, 115–140
Alfred Ivry, Maimonides’ Guide of the Perplexed: A Philosophical Guide, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2016, p. 38
Arthur Hyman, "Maimonides on Religious Language," in Perspectives on Maimonides (see note 6), 175-91
Christian Wildberg, "Neoplatonism", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2021 Edition)
Cristina D’Ancona, “The Theology attributed to Aristotle: Sources, Structure, Influence,” In The Oxford Handbook of Islamic Philosophy, New York, Oxford University Press, 2017
Cristina D'Ancona, "Pseudo- Theology of Aristotle, Chapter 1: Structure and Composition," Oriens 36 (2001): 78-112.
Cristina D'Ancona, "The Arabic “Theology of Aristotle”" In obo in Classics. 2 May. 2022.
Diana Lobel, “Silence Is Praise to You” Maimonides on Negative Theology, Looseness of Expression, and Religious Experience, in American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly vol. 76, no. 1, 2002
Elliot Wolfson “Via Negativa in Maimonides and Its Impact on Thirteenth- Century Kabbalah.” In Maimonidean Studies 5, 2008
F.W. Zimmerman, "The Origins of the So-Called Theology of Aristotle," in Pseudo-Aristotle in the Middle Ages, London: Warburg Institute, 1986, 110-24.
Herbert A. Davidson, Moses Maimonides: The Man and His Works, 2001, p. 111
Ithamar Gruenwald, “Maimonides’ Quest beyond Philosophy and Prophecy,” in Perspectives, ed. J. L. Kraemer (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996), pp. 145.
Kraemer, “Maimonides and the Spanish Aristotelian School,” p. 45
Moshe Idel, "Jewish Kabbalah and Platonism in the Middle Ages and Renaissance," in Neoplatonism and Jewish Thought, 1992, pp. 338-43;
Paul Fenton, "The Arabic and Hebrew Versions of the Theology of Aristotle,” in Pseudo-Aristotle in the Middle Ages 241-64.
Peter Adamson, The Arabic Plotinus: A Philosophical Study of the 'Theology of Aristotle,’ 2002
Philip Merlan, Monopsychism, Mysticism, Metaconsciousness: Problems of the Soul in the Neoaristotelian and Neoplatonic Tradition, The Hague: M. Nijhoff, 1969
Sarah Pessin, The Influence of Islamic Thought on Maimonides, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2005
Join us:
facebook.com/seekersofunity
instagram.com/seekersofunity
twitter.com/seekersofu
seekersofunity.com
Thank you to our beloved Patrons: Igor, Chezi, Jorge, Andrew, Alexandra, Füsun, Lucas, Andrew, Stian, Ivana, Aédàn, Darjeeling, Astarte, Declan, Gregory, Alex, Charlie, Anonymous, Joshua, Arin, Sage, Marcel, Ahawk, Yehuda, Kevin, Evan, Shahin, Al Alami, Dale, Ethan, Gerr, Effy, Noam, Ron, Shtus, Mendel, Jared, Tim, Mystic Experiment, MM, Lenny, Justin, Joshua, Jorge, Wayne, Jason, Caroline, Yaakov, Daniel, Wodenborn, Steve, Collin, Justin, Mariana, Vic, Shaw, Carlos, Nico, Isaac, Frederick, David, Ben, Rodney, Charley, Jonathan, Chelsea, Curly Joe, Adam and Andre.
Join them in supporting us:
patreon: patreon.com/seekers
paypal: paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=RKCYGQSMJFDRU
#Maimonides
#Plotinus
#Aristotle
Divine Simplicity
