Maimonides in His World

Portrait of a Mediterranean Thinker

Sarah Stroumsa

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English

Princeton University Pres
20 November 2011

Philosophy; Western philosophy: Medieval & Renaissance, c 500 to c 1600; Islamic & Arabic philosophy; Jewish studies

Series: Jews, Christians, and Muslims from the Ancient to the Modern World

While the great medieval philosopher, theologian, and physician Maimonides is acknowledged as a leading Jewish thinker, his intellectual contacts with his surrounding world are often described as related primarily to Islamic philosophy. Maimonides in His World challenges this view by revealing him to have wholeheartedly lived, breathed, and espoused the rich Mediterranean culture of his time. Sarah Stroumsa argues that Maimonides is most accurately viewed as a Mediterranean thinker who consistently interpreted his own Jewish tradition in contemporary multicultural terms. Maimonides spent his entire life in the Mediterranean region, and the religious and philosophical traditions that fed his thought were those of the wider world in which he lived. Stroumsa demonstrates that he was deeply influenced not only by Islamic philosophy but by Islamic culture as a whole, evidence of which she finds in his philosophy as well as his correspondence and legal and scientific writings.

She begins with a concise biography of Maimonides, then carefully examines key aspects of his thought, including his approach to religion and the complex world of theology and religious ideas he encountered among Jews, Christians, Muslims, and even heretics; his views about science; the immense and unacknowledged impact of the Almohads on his thought; and his vision of human perfection. This insightful cultural biography restores Maimonides to his rightful place among medieval philosophers and affirms his central relevance to the study of medieval Islam.

By: Sarah Stroumsa
Imprint: Princeton University Pres
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 235mm, Width: 152mm, Spine: 20mm
Weight: 369g
ISBN: 9780691152523
ISBN 10: 0691152527
Series: Jews, Christians, and Muslims from the Ancient to the Modern World
Pages: 248
Publication Date: 20 November 2011
Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , General/trade , Primary , Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Sarah Stroumsa is the Alice and Jack Ormut Professor of Arabic Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where she currently serves as rector. Her books include Freethinkers of Medieval Islam .

Reviews for Maimonides in His World: Portrait of a Mediterranean Thinker

Stroumsa considerably broadens our understanding of Maimonides's Graeco-Arabic sources... Stroumsa does a fine job in bringing to life the Mediterranean setting in which Maimonides encountered this ideal, and tried to direct it towards the heart of Judaism. She challenges scholars of Jewish and Muslim thought to look beyond the artificial confines of their disciplines, and raises intriguing questions about the fluid intellectual boundaries of Jewish identity. -- Carlos Fraenkel, Times Literary Supplement Fascinating. -- David Nirenberg, London Review of Books The book is well written, presenting its dense material in an accessible way. Though there are many quotations in Arabic, nothing essential is left untranslated or unexplained. Stroumsa makes her points forcefully and persuasively, positioning Maimonides as a thinker of great importance to Muslims as well as to Jews. -- Pinchas Roth, AJL Newsletter Sarah Stroumsa's erudite and accessible Maimonidies in His World ... is an exceptional work of critical scholarship that remains readable and relevant beyond the ivory tower. Indeed, its true significance might be found among a more general readership... In the future conversations that are sure to ensue about Maimonides' place in contemporary Jewish life, Stroumsa's portrait will be a most welcome, indispensible guide. -- Shai Secunda, Talmud Blog Stroumsa is an intellectual historian whose mastery of her material is impressive on many levels... Maimonides in His World ... is a book that will be considered required reading for anyone who works on Maimonides' life and thought. Stroumsa's scholarship is much too good for anyone in the field to ignore. -- Kenneth Seeskin, Shofar The book delves into even more detail to discover many of Maimonides' innovations and the way in which they were enabled. Critical to Stroumsa's reading of Maimonides is her insistence that it is impossible to understand any of his texts without taking into account the scholarship of the Arabo-Islamic thinkers of his day. -- David Shasha, Huffington Post