Plato and the Talmud

Jacob Howland (University of Tulsa)

$109.95

Hardback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

Cambridge University Press
11 October 2010

Ancient history: to c 500 CE; History of Western philosophy; Western philosophy: Ancient, to c 500; Judaism

This innovative study sees the relationship between Athens and Jerusalem through the lens of the Platonic dialogues and the Talmud. Howland argues that these texts are animated by comparable conceptions of the proper roles of inquiry and reasoned debate in religious life, and by a profound awareness of the limits of our understanding of things divine. Insightful readings of Plato's Apology, Euthyphro and chapter three of tractate Ta'anit explore the relationship of prophets and philosophers, fathers and sons, and gods and men (among other themes), bringing to light the tension between rational inquiry and faith that is essential to the speeches and deeds of both Socrates and the Talmudic sages. In reflecting on the pedagogy of these texts, Howland shows in detail how Talmudic aggadah and Platonic drama and narrative speak to different sorts of readers in seeking mimetically to convey the living ethos of rabbinic Judaism and Socratic philosophising.

By: Jacob Howland (University of Tulsa)
Imprint: Cambridge University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 235mm, Width: 160mm, Spine: 23mm
Weight: 520g
ISBN: 9780521193139
ISBN 10: 0521193133
Pages: 294
Publication Date: 11 October 2010
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Jacob Howland is McFarlin Professor of Philosophy at the University of Tulsa. He is the author of Kierkegaard and Socrates: A Study in Philosophy and Faith (Cambridge University Press, 2006), The Paradox of Political Philosophy: Socrates' Philosophic Trial (1998) and The Republic: The Odyssey of Philosophy (1993). He also edited A Long Way Home: The Story of a Jewish Youth, 1939–1948, by Bob Golan (2005) and has published numerous articles.

Reviews for Plato and the Talmud

Jacob Howland's Plato and the Talmud is a splendid addition to the small but growing and distinguished body of work in the secular academy, which takes as its fundamental principle that teaching and scholarship in the humanities must include a basic knowledge of the great Rabbinic corpus of the first millennium of the Common Era. And here Howland shows with remarkable clarity that the Rabbinic material has a tight conceptual relationship to one of the other formative traditions of western culture, namely Greek philosophy of the Platonic school. This is a remarkable book, wide in its knowledge, graceful in its presentation, modest in its posture: exactly what real scholarship should be. Donald Harman Akenson, author of Surpassing Wonder: The Invention of the Bible and the Talmuds