Maimonides and St. Thomas on the Limits of Reason

Idit Dobbs-Weinstein is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University.

Apologia and Acknowledgments

Abbreviations

Introduction

1. Maimonides and Aquinas as Interpreters

The Development of Philosophical, Biblical Exegesis

Maimonides' and Aquinas' Approaches to Interpretation

Interpretation as a Philosophical Practice

2. The Book of Job

Early Approaches to the Book of Job

The Nature of the Inquiry

Maimonides' Account of Job

Aquinas' Exposition on Job

3. The Account of the Beginning or Creation

Introduction

Maimonides' Arguments for Creation

Aquinas' Arguments for Creation

4. Matter, Privation, and Evil

Introduction

Maimonides' Ambivalence Toward Matter

Aquinas' Understanding of Matter, Privation, and Evil

5. Natural Human Perfection and Its Limits

Introduction

The Nature of the Human Soul According to Maimonides

Aquinas and the Harmony of the Soul

Conclusion

6. Divine Law as a Perfection of Philosophical Ethics

Introduction

The Limits of Philosophical Ethics According to Maimonides

Divine Sanction as Universal Imperative

The Limits of Legislative Reason

The Displacement of Legislative Reason by Divine Law

Conclusion

7. Hubris , Knowledge, and Provident Participation

Introduction

The Problem of Job

Modes of Participating Providence

Conclusion: Excess and Reticence

Endnotes

Bibliography

Name Index

Subject Index