For Judaism, it is practice over theology.

The most important aspect of one's faith is not philosophical reflection on God, but the rules and actions of the faithful.

After all, according to Maimonides, arguably the most significant philosopher in the history

of Jewish thought, we can never know God's nature.

Therefore, there is more to be gained from what we do than trying to know what God is like.

For Maimonides, we are only able to apprehend that He is.

This raises a problem, however. For if we cannot

learn about, come to build a relationship or increase our knowledge of God, then what's

the point of religious observance? In this episode, we'll be discussing Judaism, knowledge,

understanding, and the rationality of theism with Professor Sylvia Jonas of the University of

Bamberg and the Munich Center

for Mathematical Philosophy.

According to Jonas, Maimonides' insights are valuable, yet he misses a crucial piece of the

puzzle, a distinction between knowledge and understanding.

Beyond understanding the ineffable, Jonas argues that theism shouldn't try to compete with

modern science. That doesn't mean, however, that questions of God aren't important.

For Jonas, God is a worthy object of philosophical investigation,

not because God completes our grand theory of everything,

but because God shapes people's everyday lives.

Hello and welcome to episode 117 of the Panpsychast. Outside of the philosophical mainstream, I'm Jack Symes,

and I'm joined once again by the non-standard entity, that is Rose de Castellan.

Hello.

...