Who Were the Important Jewish Philosophers of the Medieval Period?

Three Jewish Philosophers of the Medieval Period

While the dominance of the Christian worldview marks the Medieval Period in the West, it is very important to remember the additional important contributions of Muslim and Jewish thinkers to the long conversation that is the history of philosophy. We have primarily Muslim scholars from the early Middle Ages to thank for keeping Ancient Greek texts in circulation through their translations. This article, however, will focus on answering the inquiry as to who were some of the important Jewish philosophers of this period, focusing on three, though there are of course several other important examples: Saadiah Gaon, Solomon Ibn Gabirol, and perhaps the most familiar, Moses Maimonides.

Philosophy in the Medieval Period

One of the most defining features of the Medieval Period is the shift away from the Greco-Roman worldview to the Judeo-Christian worldview in the West. The start of the Medieval Period brings us the fall of the Roman Empire in the West and the rise of Christianity. Hence, philosophy during this period is infused with this Judeo-Christian worldview, and much of the philosophical work of this period involves attempts at reconciling these changes; this shift to faith over reason.

There are important differences to note relating to religion. The Ancient Greeks and Romans were polytheists, whereas Jews, Christians, and Muslims are monotheists. Moreover, the one God is supreme in every way, whereas the Ancient Greek and Roman Gods were not always understood to be complete sovereigns of the their domains of the world. Ancient Greek and Roman philosophers tended to pursue ultimate truths, where reason reigned over faith. This was turned around in the Middle Ages, where despite the need to continue philosophizing, it generally revolved around presenting the case for faith reigning over reason. What humans, therefore, were most concerned about during the Medieval Period were spiritual questions, such as how to achieve salvation. Thus, the previous philosophical perspectives employed were generally those that harmonized well with the Judeo-Christian view, such as that of Plato and Aristotle. We find, therefore, a revival of Neo-Platonism, especially in the earlier part of the Medieval period, and a revival of Aristotelianism especially in the later Medieval Period.

As noted, we have largely Muslim philosophers to thank for keeping ancient texts in circulation, which in some cases also led to some overlap in influence; in fact, the first Jewish philosophers from this period developed in Muslim territories, especially Babylonia.

Judaism in the Medieval Period

Of these three monotheistic religions, Judaism is the oldest. Judaism was born about one thousand years before the birth of the Ancient civilization of Greece. However, with the rise of Christianity came problems for the Jewish people, as despite the common heritage, they came to increasingly separate.

Some particularly poignant differences led to some violent clashes between the two groups. For example, the Jews viewed followers of Jesus Christ as having renounced what they believed was the true religion. The rough historical relations between the Jews and the Romans eventually led to some protections, but the Jews in response tried to deny this to the Christians. There were many pogroms during the Crusades. There was one place where for a time, in Spain, the three monotheistic religions lived peacefully together, but this would become all the opposite at the end of this period with the Inquisition. But in general, none of the history from this period prevented the flowering of some important Jewish contributions to the history of philosophy. Three individuals in particular will be reviewed here: Saadiah Gaon, Solomon Ibn Gabirol, and perhaps the most familiar, Moses Maimonides.

Saadiah Gaon

Given the general common thread of philosophers working to reconcile faith and reason, Saadiah Gaon (882-942 CE) was no exception to this. Gaon can be considered the first Jewish philosopher from this period (at least, from what we have on record). Drawing from Neoplatonism primarily, Gaon argued that rational philosophy and biblical doctrine come from the same source. His goal was to establish the authority of the Rabbinic tradition. Here is how he reasoned this.

First, there is his position on certainties: he argued that they come from three main sources (one with two sub-parts), and these are the senses, reason, and tradition. The senses do provide us with knowledge, but they can also lead us to make mistakes, and when that happens, we in turn use the senses to correct them. Therefore, the senses of course give us some basic reliable knowledge, but some bigger questions cannot be answered via the senses, and that is where reason comes in. For example, it is reason, not the senses, that can help us understand where the world came from, and how. And at times of course they work together.

He argued that there are two kinds of reasons: rational intuition and rational inference. The former helps us with truths, and the second helps us find answers, such as to those big questions. The first, knowledge of reason, is often a combination of the intellect with sensory information; certain intuitive truths that are verified with the senses. Given the involvement of the senses, again we must employ critical thinking to avoid too many errors. An example here would be how the concepts of good and evil may be confirmed in our experiences. The second, inferential knowledge, generally takes the first two and employs the use of deduction to aim for further certainties. Here an example for Gaon would be knowledge derived from science. An important summarizing point is that he always leaves room here for the possibility of error.

And finally, there is tradition. The most important dictate for tradition for the Jewish people is the Bible. The Bible is the ultimate source of knowledge, and its veracity is confirmed by prophets and miracles. What he is trying to do here is make a distinction between the kind of “tradition” that creates a community and keeps them unified, compared to the Biblical tradition whose truths rest on revelation; there is no involvement of verification through human sensory knowledge. Still, he emphasizes the need for the three forms of knowledge to ultimately agree.

An example of this together is Gaon’s stance on the creation of the world; Genesis provides the Biblical traditional explanation for the creation of the world by an omnipotent God, and our need to follow the commandments in response to this creation for humankind. But this, as we shall see, is in contrast to Maimonides’s later view, who would object, arguing that creation could not be logically proven, therefore we cannot defend the existence of God based on that reasoning as Gaon tried to do (and Maimonides would present a different way of interpreting God’s existence).

These are just some of the key parts of Gaon’s philosophy, and while there is much more of course, the thread unifying it is its infusion with religion—again, typical of the period.

Solomon Ibn Gabirol

The next important Jewish philosopher we will discuss here from this period was Solomon Ibn Gabirol (1021-1058), who despite being a devout Jew, his main work does not draw much from Judaism. He was mostly influenced by Neoplatonism, but there are some Aristotelian elements in his work as well. He was not just influential in the subsequent history of Jewish thinkers, but also Christian philosophers as well.

Arguably his biggest impact would be in metaphysical thought, introducing a new idea around bodily corporeality that would be influential in the dialogue that ensued. Essentially, he made the concept of “bodies” more like “bodies,” arguing that everything is made up of matter and form, but in a hierarchical sense. The universe consists of the Godhead at the top, which is immaterial, and formless, base matter at the bottom. This would be especially influential in the Aristotelian thought of the thirteenth century.

Gabirol’s work was very representative of the Medieval Period, spanning all religious backgrounds, in his exploration of the human being as a microcosm of the universe. This is very tied to Neoplatonic thought: we are rational beings capable of seeing how we are such miniature versions of the larger whole.

Thus, our aim is universal knowledge. And like Gaon, Gabirol divides knowledge into three types. First, everything of this world is comprised of form and matter (there is some influence here from Aristotle as well, but there are also some ways in which he deviates from the Aristotelian view). The second is will, which is the source of all the things comprised of form and matter, because those earthly things cannot be self-caused. And the third domain of knowledge is the ultimate source, God; this he refers to as the First Substance, which is not directly comprehensible by humans. Thus, there is a kind of direct knowledge, inferential knowledge, and “knowledge” not directly accessible. This three-part system is the basic structure of his metaphysical position on reality.

Given Gabirol’s broader philosophical analysis, he would be influential not just on subsequent Jewish thinkers, especially the Jewish Kabballah, but also on Christian Neo-Platonists as well—and especially regarding his view on the will. He also had important poetic contributions, both secular and religious, that would be incorporated into Jewish prayer books.

Moses Maimonides

Moses Maimonides (1138-1204) also worked toward the reconciliation of philosophy and religion; of the teachings of the Bible with the teachings of philosophy. Similar to Gaon, he argued that a better understanding of the Bible requires the study of philosophy.

He was a man very much in the throes of the long conversation that is the history of philosophy, openly indebting himself to important thinkers of the past, especially Averroes and Aristotle. Ultimately, some of his ideas were considered blasphemous to some, but interest in his work continued after he died, and he was probably the most impactful of the three discussed here.

Maimonides is probably one of if not the most well-known and influential of the Jewish philosophers during the Middle Ages. One of the reasons for this is because his work is arguably the most inclusive and complete attempt to reconcile religion and philosophy; specifically, Aristotelian thought with that of the Torah. However, it should be noted that not all of his work was infused with Aristotelianism; there is some influence from Plato as well, but it is not as significant.

Much of his work centers on the position of negation: humans are lacking in many qualities and capacities; thus, we can also only speak of God in terms of negation. This is also because, he argues, we are essentially really nothing like God so when we say something like God is all-knowing, all we can really say is that God is not all-not-knowing. His goal here is primarily to remind humankind of the limits to our knowledge.

Despite this emphasis on negation and our complete lack of any commonality with God, he did have a position on what the aim of life should be, and that should be toward God, nonetheless. Our goal should procedurally be to know, love, and work to try to imitate God. Meaning, that knowledge can lead to the love of God, and we express this love through our attempts at imitation of God.

Intellectual perfection should be our pursuit, but it is ultimately unattainable. This pursuit is that of eternal truth, which is this fully immersed and complete worship of God, which implies the comprehensive renunciation of the material for the spiritual. Through this, it is argued that he synthesizes perhaps more successfully than others Greek thought with Jewish thought.

Significance of Medieval Jewish Philosophy

What makes a philosopher “significant” in the history of philosophy? Perhaps that cannot be answered with complete agreement. We may differ on the criteria applied. Here I discussed just three, but there were of course many other important Jewish philosophers during this period. Part of the reason in this case for the choices is brevity. But arguably despite the criteria, one individual who would likely always be included in any writing on Jewish philosophy during the Middle Ages is Moses Maimonides. Quite simply, one important criterion is being widely read and referenced. In the history of philosophy, sometimes the best works are influential not for the answers they propose, but the conversation it enriches or sparks. Maimonides was certainly such an individual, as well as the other two included here, and many others. They were very representative of the age as well, as most philosophy in general in the West during this period was about working toward a reconciliation with faith. These were important individuals in this endeavor.