Logic

• Reason, meanwhile, means inquiry that draws on logic and deductive reasoning.
• For Maimonides, a 12th century theologian, philosopher, rabbi and physician, there is no true faith without reason.
• In this rabbi’s view, the idea of a battle between faith and reason sets boundaries where none need exist.
• This synthesis is at the heart of Maimonides’ most famous philosophical work, “The Guide for the Perplexed.”

Jerusalem and Athens

• Some philosophers have described them as two different cities, as when University of Chicago professor Leo Strauss wrote of “Jerusalem and Athens.” Both cities love wisdom, Strauss wrote, but attribute it to different things.
• In “Athens,” on the other hand, symbolized by the ancient Greek philosophers, “the beginning of wisdom is wonder” – the wonder of inquiry and reason.

• As a doctor, astronomer and philosopher, however, he was just as knowledgeable about the science of his day.
• In Part II of his “Guide,” Maimonides credits Aristotle with helping to prove three key principles about God: God is incorporeal, without a physical body; God is one; and God transcends the material world.

Science and scripture

• Rather, he argues that the truths of science and philosophy must inform how people interpret the Bible.
• If reason teaches that God is incorporeal, this means that God has no body; God does not physically see, nor do people see God.
• And if God does not literally speak, then the Bible cannot be the literal word of God.

Maimonides insists that the Bible be appreciated as an esoteric text. Any part of the revealed text that does not fit with a true understanding of God and the universe must be read allegorically. Reason does not eliminate his faith in God, or the power of scripture. Instead, reason protects people from believing something incorrect about God’s nature. Maimonides insists that we have faith in reason and that reason ground our faith.

The palace of God

• Reason was the tool needed to make sense of sacred texts, and philosophical inquiry was the process needed to get it right.
• Toward the end of his “Guide for the Perplexed,” Maimonides lays out what he believes are different levels of enlightenment.
• The allegory centers on a king’s palace: Only a select few, those who pursue truest wisdom grounded in philosophy and science, will reach the room where the king – God – resides.

Randy L. Friedman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.