
As an Amazon Associate and affiliate partner, Menrva Books earns from qualifying purchases. Learn more
Samuel Lebens takes the three principles of Jewish faith, as proposed by Rabbi Joseph Albo (1380-1444), in order to scrutinize and refine them with the toolkit of contemporary analytic philosophy. What could it mean for a perfect being to create a world from nothing? Could our world be anything more than a figment of God's imagination? What is the Torah? What does Judaism expect from a Messiah, and what would it mean for a world to be redeemed? These questions are explored in conversation with a wide array of Jewish sources and with an eye towards diverse fields of contemporary research, such as cosmology, philosophical logic, the ontology of literature, and the metaphysics of time. The Principles of Judaism articulates the most fundamental axioms of Orthodox Judaism in the vernacular of contemporary philosophy.
How can the fundamental principles of Jewish faith be articulated and defended using the rigorous framework of contemporary analytic philosophy? Samuel Lebens, a scholar specializing in the intersection of philosophy and religion, applies modern logical and metaphysical tools to the three core tenets of Judaism as originally proposed by the 15th-century thinker Rabbi Joseph Albo. By bridging classical rabbinic sources with contemporary discourse, the author seeks to provide a coherent, intellectually robust defense of Orthodox Jewish axioms.
What You Will Find
Scope Limits
Scholars and students of analytic theology frequently identify this work as a significant contribution to the modernization of classical Jewish thought. Readers often note the high level of technical density in the prose, which requires a strong background in both philosophical logic and religious studies to fully navigate.
Page Count:
352
Publication Date:
2020-01-01
Publisher:
OUP Oxford
ISBN-10:
0192581252
ISBN-13:
9780192581259
No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!