322 MOSESMAIMONIDES
philosophy (with some Neoplatonic spin), Maimonides believed he could
answer a number of philosophical questions about the nature of God and of
God’s creation in a way that was consistent with sacred writings. Apparent dis-
agreements between philosophy and theology frequently resulted from either
taking figurative passages in Scripture literally or misunderstanding difficult
philosophical arguments. Occasionally, philosophy is simply incapable of
answering a given question and one must accept “the authority of Prophecy,
which can teach things beyond the reach of human speculation.” But even in
such cases, philosophy can still provide general reasons for believing
Scripture. For example, philosophy is inconclusive in determining whether or
not the world is eternal. But whichever position we assume, says Maimonides,
we can use that assumption to prove that God exists (when using arguments
that Maimonides collected).
The selection from the Guidegiven here, in the M. Friedländer translation,
presents Maimonides’ arguments for God’s existence. This passage greatly influ-
enced Thomas Aquinas, and echoes of Maimonides’ thought can be heard
throughout Thomas’s writings.
For selections from Maimonides’ writings, see Jacob Samuel Minkin,The World
of Moses Maimonides, with Selections From His Writings(New York: T. Yoseloff,
1957); Moses Maimonides,The Guide for the Perplexed,translated by Shlomo
Pines (Chicago: Chicago University Press, 1963); and Moses Maimonides,
Rambam: Readings in the Philosophy of Moses Maimonides,translated by Lenn
Evan Goodman (New York: Viking Press, 1976).
Among the many general introductions to Maimonides’ life and thought,
more recent helpful studies include Abraham Joshua Heschel,Maimonides:
A Biography, translated by Joachim Neugroschel (New York: Farrar, Straus &
Giroux, 1982); Oliver Leaman,Moses Maimonides(London: Routledge, 1990);
and Herbert A. Davidson,Moses Maimonides(Oxford: Oxford University Press,
2004). For more specialized studies, see Carol Klein,The Credo of Maimonides:
A Synthesis(New York: Philosophical Library, 1958); Jehuda Melber,The
Universality of Maimonides(New York: Jonathan David, 1968); Menachem
Marc Kellner,Dogma in Medieval Jewish Thought: From Maimonides to
Abravanel(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1986); Raymond L. Weiss,
Maimonides’ Ethics(Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1991); Howard
Kreisel,Maimonides’ Political Thought(Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 1999);
David Hartman,Maimonides’ Torah and Philosophic Quest(Philadelphia, PA:
Jewish Publication Society, 2000); and James Arthur Diamond,Maimonides and
the Hermeneutics of Concealment: Deciphering Scripture and Midrash inThe
Guide of the Preplexed (Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 2002). For collections of
essays, see Salo Whittmay Baron, ed.,Essays on Maimonides: An Octocennial
Volume(New York: Columbia University Press, 1941); Joseph A. Buijs, ed.,
Maimonides:A Collection of Critical Essays(Notre Dame, IN: University of
Notre Dame Press, 1988); Eric L. Ormsby, ed.,Moses Maimonides and His Time
(Washington, DC: Catholic University of America Press, 1989); and Kenneth
Seeskin, ed., The Cambridge Companion to Maimonides (Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 2005).
