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In Our Time: Philosophy

Maimonides

In Our Time: Philosophy

BBC

History

4.51.3K Ratings

🗓️ 15 February 2011

⏱️ 42 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the work and influence of Maimonides.Widely regarded as the greatest Jewish philosopher of the medieval period, Maimonides was also a physician and rabbinical authority. Also known as Rambam, his writings include a 14-volume work on Jewish law, the Mishneh Torah, which is still widely used today, and the Guide for the Perplexed, a central work of medieval philosophy. Although undoubtedly a titan of Jewish intellectual history, Maimonides was also profoundly influenced by the Islamic world. He exerted a strong influence on later Islamic philosophy, as well as on thinkers ranging from Thomas Aquinas to Leibniz and Newton.With:John HaldaneProfessor of Philosophy at the University of St AndrewsSarah StroumsaAlice and Jack Ormut Professor of Arabic Studies and currently Rector at the Hebrew University of JerusalemPeter AdamsonProfessor of Ancient and Medieval Philosophy at King's College London.Producer: Thomas Morris.

Transcript

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0:00.0

Thanks for downloading the In Our Time podcast. For more details about In Our Time and for our terms of use, please go to BBC.co.uk.

0:10.0

I hope you enjoy the program.

0:12.0

Hello, one of the most visited sites in the city of Tiberius on the western shore of the

0:17.4

Sea of Galilee is a simple marble tomb. This is the final resting place of the medieval philosopher, theologian and lawyer Moses Mymonadees.

0:26.0

You get some idea of his importance to the history of Jewish scholarship from the Hebrew

0:30.2

inscription which reads from Moses to Moses there arose none like Moses.

0:36.2

Today my monodes is widely regarded as one of the greatest scholars of the Middle Ages.

0:40.6

He spent much of his life in Egypt and was influenced by a rich mix of Jewish, Islamic and ancient Greek thinkers.

0:47.0

His authoritative Magnum Oppos on Jewish law remained central to the subject more than eight centuries on and his book The Guide for the Perplexed

0:55.5

is one of the masterpieces of medieval philosophy. With me to discuss the life and work of

0:59.8

my monodies are John Haldane, Professor of Philosophy at the University of St Andrews,

1:05.0

Sarah Strumse, Alice and Jack Ormit Professor of Arabic Studies and currently Rector

1:09.6

at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Peter Adamson, Professor of Ancient and Medieval Philosophy at King's College London.

1:17.0

John Holden, my monadives was born in Cordoba in southern Spain around 1135.

1:22.0

Could you tell us a bit about the environment?

1:24.0

So this is in Andalusia, Muslim Spain.

1:29.0

Cordoba is a cultured affluent city, merchants, learned people and so on. He came from a family that was, we assume, relatively affluent, professional family.

1:43.0

His father was both a rabbinical leader, doctor, and so on.

1:47.1

And he grew up for his early years there

1:50.3

would have been ones of some leisure and some affluence as I say.

1:54.0

But, and also the surrounding culture was one of relative tolerance, toleration.

2:02.0

But by about the period of his ninth or ten, thank he was nine at

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