Samuel Ibn Tibbon's Commentary on Ecclesiastes: The Book of the Soul of Man

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Mohr Siebeck, 2007 - 660 páginas
Samuel Ibn Tibbon (c. 1165-1232) - the eminent translator, philosopher, and exegete - is most famous for his Hebrew translation of Maimonides' Guide of the Perplexed . However, he wrote original works as well, and laid the foundations for a distinctive philosophical-exegetical movement, what is today called 'Maimonideanism'. James T. Robinson's book includes a first English translation of Ibn Tibbon's commentary on Ecclesiastes, which was the foundational work of the Maimonidean tradition. The translation, with full annotation, is accompanied by an introduction, which provides relevant historical, philosophical and exegetical background, explains difficult passages, and identifies Ibn Tibbon's important contributions to the emergence of Maimonideanism. The author analyzes Ibn Tibbon's sources and influences (in Jewish philosophy and exegesis and in Graeco-Arabic philosophy, especially al-Farabi and Averroes), discusses his theory and method of exegesis, and explains the main arguments and allegories of the work which relate to the problem of human perfection. Responding to and developing the various positions of his time - especially the infamous view of al-Farabi that immortality of the soul is nothing but an old wife's tale - Ibn Tibbon argues that conjunction with the active intellect is possible but rare: only one man in a thousand can attain it. Thus, while the elite few should pursue it - through a life of study and contemplation - the many should focus on perfection in this world: they should eat, drink, and show the soul good.

Dentro del libro

Contenido

Reference Tools and Study Aids
12
The Title
26
The Excurses
41
Rabbinic Literature
59
Philosophical Sources
76
Aristotle and the Arabic Aristotelians
92
Christian Scholasticism
105
Remarks on the Translation
145
Chapter 5
456
Chapter 6
475
Chapter 7
483
Chapter 8
533
Chapter 9
545
Chapter 10
561
Chapter 11
581
Chapter 12
589

Chapter 1
189
Chapter 2
283
Chapter 3
310
Chapter 4
441
Bibliography
607
Indices 639
614
Derechos de autor

Términos y frases comunes

Acerca del autor (2007)

James T. Robinson, Born 1965; 2002 PhD (Harvard University), Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations; Assistant Professor of the History of Judaism at the Divinity School of the University of Chicago.

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