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THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA

Arabic-Jewish Philosophy

philosophy, nor an ardent emotional evolution like or Buddhism; nor was it the result of over-subtle cogitationlike the teachMosaism ings of Confucius and Zoroaster. It a System consisted of the imperative commands of of au Omnipotent Will speaking in

Brahmanism

Mandates, mandatory

accents.

The

religions of

intellect addressed their followers in

the subjunctive; tive; its

emotional religions in the opta-

Mosaism, a Will- or Law-religion, admonished

believers in terse, unconditional imperatives.

The

sacred writings of no other of the great religions contain so little speculative reflection as the Old Testament and if it be true that all religion is but imperfect philosophy that is, philosophy in the guise of sentiment (Schleiermacher), and never in the form of the concept (Hegel) then Mosaism affords a most imperfect system of metaphysics. History (Genesis as an attempt at the history of the world; Exodus as a national history, etc.), poetry (Deborah's Song, the Psalms, and the Prophetical writings), together with jurisprudence (Leviticus) these are the vital elements in Mosaism. There is no room for philosophy. The philosophical tinge in the two books of the canon, Job and Ecclesiastes, is distinctly due to foreign influences: the former plunges immediately into the angelology and demonology of Parseeism, and the latter is dyed in the somber hues of the Hellenism of Alexandria. Still more practical evidence of the aversion of Mosaism to philosophy is afforded by the fact that, when Jewish Hellenism in Alexandria evolved not only such fitful stars of small magnitude as Aristseus and Aristobulus, but also a great and enduring luminary like Philo, it was rudimentary Christianity that blossomed forth in response to the Jewish-Hellenic doctrine of the Logos Judaism remained entirely uninfluenced by the Philonic Position philosophy. This accounts for the fact of that Maimonides the sole Jewish phiPhilo. losopher of the Middle Ages with a full appreciation of the historical sequence of his faith knew as little of the existence of Philo as of the works of Joseph us. Indeed, all medieval Judaism may be said to have remained in ignorance of Philo, the only philosopher produced by ancient Judaism, and the greatest one down to the present time, Spinoza alone excepted a circumstance all the more significant when contrasted with the assiduous development of the historical sense in other fields. Even with Philo himself philosophy was not indigenous it was a product imported from other climes for Philo was absolutely dependent upon Plato, jiist as Maimonides and all Arabic-Jewish philosophers, with the exception of Ibn Gabirol, were upon Aris;

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totle.

The explanation of the cold

and almost

this

tative

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toward philosophy may perhaps be found in the fact that every religion based upon law is thereby neereligion,

Authori-

remarkable phenomenon

hostile attitude of Judaism, as a

Nature of essarily authoritative in its utterances. Mosaism. The Jews did not need to speculate upon the origin of all things. The Babylonian legend of the creation was presented to them dogma, as an unquestionable article

in Genesis as a

46

of faith. All other religious systems had to think out for themselves a foundation for the world in Juda;

ism one was ready to hand.

was the aim and object of

all

Thus, what elsewhere speculative philosophy

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—the account of

the origin of the universe was in Judaism posited at the very beginning of the Bible. One other fact remains to be mentioned namely, that of all ancient religions Mosaism was the only

All the others glorified death Mooptimistic one. saism was alone in extolling life: D'TQ mrUl, "Choose life" (Deut. xxx. 19); "keep my statutes which if a man do, he shall live in them" While pessimistic religions pro(Lev. xviii. 5). claimed as their watchword, " Choose death, choose

.

.

.

non-existence " (Nirvana), Mosaism, on the contrary, never ceased to enjoin, "Choose life." "Servo the Lord with gladness, come before His presence with singing, " j oyously exhorts the Psalmist (Ps. c. 2) "I shall not die, but live," he exults in the delirium of happy existence (Ps. cxviii. 17). Buddhism was a religion of commiseration Mosaism, one that shared the happiness and joy of all living creatures. Such a religion, whose God surveyed all creation with satisfaction, and emphasized each successive stage with the exclamation "It is good," "It is very good," needed no philosophy, and therefore produced none. All philosophy originates either in a puzzled incom;



prehensibility of things (e-rrl to Bavjia^cLv, as Aristotle says) or in a deep dissatisfaction with the existing arrangement of the world. Neither of these motives obtained with the Jews for them there Optimistic was neither theoretical impulse nor Character practical inducement. For them, acof knowledging revelation as they did, Mosaism. there existed no mystery as to the origin of the universe nor was there



anything in its government crying out for improvement. Their faith, on the one hand, and their exemplary fortitude in life, on the other in short, their native optimism sealed for them all the sources of philosophy. Thus there was never an original Jewish philosophy, but only, as with Philo, a HellenoJewish, or, as in the Middle Ages, an Arabic- Jewish,

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philosophical system. In the Arabic -Jewish philosophy four distinct types or tendencies may be discerned, all, however,

dependent upon Greek models. (1)

The

first

of these

is

the rabbinical

Kal&m (the-

ology or science of the word), appearing

first

with

Saadia, attaining its highest point with Maimonides in literary development, and with Hasdai Crescas in speculative attainment, and sinking with Joseph

Albo tific

to the level of

models for

mere

pulpit-rhetoric.

this school were,

The

scien-

among Arabian

philosophers, the Motazilites (who denied all limiting attributes of the Deity, and were champions, therefore, of His unity and justice); and, among Greeks, Porphyry and the so-called Aristotelian theology, that is, Plotinus' "Enneads." But as soon as Aristotle's

actual writings became known, first through the medium of Arabic versions, and later through Hebrew translations, this Neoplatonic dilution of true Aris-

totelianism began gradually to give way, and approach was made to a purer form of it. As Boethius among Christian scholastic philosophers was alluded to as "the author," so Aristotle came to be termed