A History of Mediaeval Jewish Philosophy By: Isaac Husik (1876-1939)
First Page: [Transcriber's Note: English transliterations have been provided for the Greek and Hebrew words. A few other substitutions have also been used in this version of the text. They are as follows: [= ] surrounding a vowel indicates that it is a long vowel with a macron (dash) above it. [h.] indicates that this is an h with a dot under it. The use of tildes (~) around a word signifies that the original was spaced out l i k e t h i s. ` indicates an inverted apostrophe, which in this book is used to represent the gutteral ayin found in Hebrew and Arabic.] A HISTORY OF MEDIAEVAL JEWISH PHILOSOPHY BY ISAAC HUSIK, A.M., PH.D. ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA New York THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 1916 All rights reserved COPYRIGHT, 1916 BY THE MACMILLAN COMPANY Set up and electrotyped. Published October, 1916. This book is issued by the Macmillan Company in conjunction with the Jewish Publication Society of America. TO SOLOMON SOLIS COHEN, M.D. AS A TOKEN OF GRATITUDE AND ESTEEM PREFACE No excuse is needed for presenting to the English reader a History of Mediæval Jewish Philosophy. The English language, poor enough in books on Jewish history and literature, can boast of scarcely anything at all in the domain of Jewish Philosophy. The Jewish Encyclopedia has no article on Jewish Philosophy, and neither has the eleventh edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica. Hastings' Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics will have a brief article on the subject from the conscientious and able pen of Dr. Henry Malter, but of books there is none. But while this is due to several causes, chief among them perhaps being that English speaking people in general and Americans in particular are more interested in positive facts than in tentative speculations, in concrete researches than in abstract theorizing there are ample signs that here too a change is coming, and in many spheres we are called upon to examine our foundations with a view to making our superstructure deep and secure as well as broad and comprehensive. And this is nothing else than philosophy. Philosophical studies are happily on the increase in this country and more than one branch of literary endeavor is beginning to feel its influence. And with the increase of books and researches in the history of the Jews is coming an awakening to the fact that the philosophical and rationalistic movement among the Jews in the middle ages is well worth study, influential as it was in forming Judaism as a religion and as a theological and ethical system. But it is not merely the English language that is still wanting in a general history of Mediæval Jewish Philosophy, the German, French and Italian languages are no better off in this regard. For while it is true that outside of the Hebrew and Arabic sources, German books and monographs are the sine qua non of the student who wishes to investigate the philosophical movement in mediæval Jewry, and the present writer owes very much to the researches of such men as Joel, Guttmann, Kaufmann and others, it nevertheless remains true that there is as yet no complete history of the subject for the student or the general reader. The German writers have done thorough and distinguished work in expounding individual thinkers and problems, they have gathered a complete and detailed bibliography of Jewish philosophical writings in print and in manuscript, they have edited and translated and annotated the most important philosophical texts. France has also had an important share in these fundamental undertakings, but for some reason neither the one nor the other has so far undertaken to present to the general student and non technical reader the results of their researches... Continue reading book >>

A History of Mediaeval Jewish Philosophy By: Isaac Husik (1876-1939)

First Page:

[Transcriber's Note:

English transliterations have been provided for the Greek and Hebrew words.

A few other substitutions have also been used in this version of the text. They are as follows:

[= ] surrounding a vowel indicates that it is a long vowel with a macron (dash) above it.

[h.] indicates that this is an h with a dot under it.

The use of tildes (~) around a word signifies that the original was spaced out l i k e t h i s.

` indicates an inverted apostrophe, which in this book is used to represent the gutteral ayin found in Hebrew and Arabic.]

A HISTORY OF MEDIAEVAL JEWISH PHILOSOPHY

ISAAC HUSIK, A.M., PH.D. ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

New York THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 1916

This book is issued by the Macmillan Company in conjunction with the Jewish Publication Society of America.

TO SOLOMON SOLIS COHEN, M.D. AS A TOKEN OF GRATITUDE AND ESTEEM

PREFACE

No excuse is needed for presenting to the English reader a History of Mediæval Jewish Philosophy. The English language, poor enough in books on Jewish history and literature, can boast of scarcely anything at all in the domain of Jewish Philosophy. The Jewish Encyclopedia has no article on Jewish Philosophy, and neither has the eleventh edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica. Hastings' Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics will have a brief article on the subject from the conscientious and able pen of Dr. Henry Malter, but of books there is none. But while this is due to several causes, chief among them perhaps being that English speaking people in general and Americans in particular are more interested in positive facts than in tentative speculations, in concrete researches than in abstract theorizing there are ample signs that here too a change is coming, and in many spheres we are called upon to examine our foundations with a view to making our superstructure deep and secure as well as broad and comprehensive. And this is nothing else than philosophy. Philosophical studies are happily on the increase in this country and more than one branch of literary endeavor is beginning to feel its influence. And with the increase of books and researches in the history of the Jews is coming an awakening to the fact that the philosophical and rationalistic movement among the Jews in the middle ages is well worth study, influential as it was in forming Judaism as a religion and as a theological and ethical system.

But it is not merely the English language that is still wanting in a general history of Mediæval Jewish Philosophy, the German, French and Italian languages are no better off in this regard. For while it is true that outside of the Hebrew and Arabic sources, German books and monographs are the sine qua non of the student who wishes to investigate the philosophical movement in mediæval Jewry, and the present writer owes very much to the researches of such men as Joel, Guttmann, Kaufmann and others, it nevertheless remains true that there is as yet no complete history of the subject for the student or the general reader. The German writers have done thorough and distinguished work in expounding individual thinkers and problems, they have gathered a complete and detailed bibliography of Jewish philosophical writings in print and in manuscript, they have edited and translated and annotated the most important philosophical texts. France has also had an important share in these fundamental undertakings, but for some reason neither the one nor the other has so far undertaken to present to the general student and non technical reader the results of their researches... Continue reading book >>

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Philosophy

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