1st Edition

Studies in Religious Philosophy and Mysticism

By Alexander Altmann Copyright 1969
332 Pages
by Routledge

322 Pages
by Routledge

The twelve studies here are arranged in three distinct groups – Arabic and Judaeo-Arabic philosophy, Jewish mysticism, and modern philosophy. One theme that appears in various forms and from different angles in the first two sections is that of ‘Images of the Divine’. It figures not only in the account of mystical imagery but also in the discussion of the ‘Know thyself’ motif, and is closely... Read more

Introduction  1. The Delphic Maxim in Medieval Islam and Judaism  2. "The Ladder of Ascension”  3. Ibn Bājja on Man’s Ultimate Felicity  4. Essence and Existence in Maimonides  5. A Note on the Rabbinic Doctrine of Creation  6. Saadya’s Theory of Revelation: It’s Origin and Background  7. Eleazar of Worms’ Symbol of the Merkabah  8. The Motif of the "Shells" in Azriel of Gerona  9. Moses Narboni’s "Epistle on Shi ur Qomā"  10. William Wollaston: English Deist and Rabbinic Scholar  11. Moses Mendelssohn on Leibniz and Spinoza  12. Franz Rosenzweig on History

Biography

Alexander Altmann was formerly rabbi of the Berlin Jewish Community then communal rabbi of Manchester, where he founded and directed the Institute of Jewish Studies, now part of University College London. He moved to Brandeis University in Massachusetts as the Philip W. Lown Professor of Jewish Philosophy and History of Ideas in 1959 and was a leading Mendelssohn scholar.