Journal of Seven Heavens

Journal of Seven Heavens

The Muslim Context of Jewish Philosophy

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
phd student
Abstract
The period with which this chapter is concerned is the heyday of Islamic philosophy, between the ninth and the twelfth centuries, in the area dominated by Islam and stretching between Persia in the east and the Iberian peninsula in the west and as far south as Yemen. In this area, Arabic was adopted as a lingua franca for all walks of life and in all cultural milieus; and despite their mastery of Hebrew, a great majority of Jewish thinkers wrote their works in Arabic. Before this era, except Philo of Alexandria, there was no prominent Jewish philosopher. However, from the beginning of the third Islamic century, Jews gradually became familiar with the Islamic philosophy; and a great many philosophical problems dealt with by Muslim thinkers were also considered by the Jews; one can see this fact by reading the philosophical works of Jews. One should bear in mind that Islamic works are, it goes without saying, different, and that each Jewish philosopher may have been influenced by a certain thinker or school of thought.
 
 
 
Keywords

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  • Receive Date 04 January 2014
  • Revise Date 03 February 2014
  • Accept Date 05 March 2014