JPHI1650H: Maimonides and his Enemies

Abstract

COURSE OVERVIEW This semester we will explore the legacy of perhaps the most renowned and influential Jewish thinker in history: Maimonides. Over the first half of the course, we will examine his historical and intellectual context, and then survey his central works—attending to their central claims and innovations. The second half of our course will be devoted to the study of a series of thinkers—ranging from Nachmanides and Gersonides to Luzzatto—who opposed at least a portion of Maimonides’ thought, and, through the lens of their critique, deepen our grasp of what’s at stake in the Maimonidean imagination that shaped Judaism as we know it today.