Today I will introduce one of the greatest thinkers in the Jewish philosophical tradition: Moses Maimonides. He was also a rabbi, what made him a high authority in the Jewish community. He lived in the 12th century AD and spent his whole life in societies with Islamic dominance. However, he contributed to the flourishing of Jewish thought and played big part in the development of a communal identity amongst Jews. For me, todays academics can learn a lot from Maimonides, especially in two particular ways.
First, Maimonides did not classify himself. You could say he was a defender of tradition or a student of Aristotle, but none of this classification can completely define him. You could see Maimonides as both Jewish and Muslim. He was raised Jewish in an Islamic society and used both Jewish and Islamic traditions in his philosophy. For example, he copied the Islamic tradition of describing God with negatives: not ‘God is strong’, but rather ‘God is not weak’. For Maimonides classifying yourself or anybody for that matter, means limiting yourself. As soon as you classify someone, you limit their definition or essence, and so predetermine how to evaluate them. In today’s society is very common to classify someone within a specific religion or as an expert in a certain subject. However, in this way we both limit ourselves in the way we think as well as the way others view our writings or opinions.
Secondly, Maimonides had a very pleasant way of writing. He wrote about a range of subjects for different kinds of audiences. The important thing to take away from his writings is the way that he changed his tone for different audiences. When writing for the public, he adjusted his tone to a very comprehensive and clear style of writing, without using pretentious rhetoric and technical jargon. In contrast to many modern writers, his goal was not to impress his audience, but to have them understand his ideas and argument. The goal was not to convince people of your intelligence by using technical and difficult words, but the focus was on simplicity and making sure your audience understands the messages and ideas. Like Einstein once said: ‘if you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough’.
Medieval philosophy Lecture 1 