Gersonides (1288–1344) was a philosopher as well as an astronomer and biblical exegete. This book is a comprehensive picture of Gersonides' philosophy that is both descriptive and evaluative. Unusually for a Jewish scholar, Gersonides had contacts with several Christian notables and scholars. It is known that these related to mathematical and astronomical matters; the extent to which these contacts also influenced his philosophical thought is a matter of some controversy. Unquestionably, he wrote a library of philosophical, scientific, and exegetical works that testify not only to the range of ... More

Gersonides (1288–1344) was a philosopher as well as an astronomer and biblical exegete. This book is a comprehensive picture of Gersonides' philosophy that is both descriptive and evaluative. Unusually for a Jewish scholar, Gersonides had contacts with several Christian notables and scholars. It is known that these related to mathematical and astronomical matters; the extent to which these contacts also influenced his philosophical thought is a matter of some controversy. Unquestionably, he wrote a library of philosophical, scientific, and exegetical works that testify not only to the range of his intellectual concerns but also to his attempt to forge a philosophical–scientific synthesis between these secular sciences and Judaism. He did not see any fundamental discrepancy between the pursuit of truth via reason and its attainment through divine revelation. As a philosopher-scientist and biblical exegete, Gersonides sought to make this agreement robustly evident. While philosophical and scientific ideas have progressed since Gersonides' time, his work is still relevant today because his attempt to make prophecy and miracles understandable in terms of some commonly held philosophical or scientific theory is paradigmatic of a religion that is not afraid of reason. His general principle that reason should function as a “control” of what we believe has interesting and important implications for the modern reader. He was not afraid to make religious beliefs philosophically and scientifically credible. In this respect he was a precursor of Kant and Hermann Cohen: Judaism is or should be a religion of reason.