Riassunto
Riassunto di La guida dei perplessi
A chi è rivolto
For readers who love big questions about God, scripture and reason, and anyone curious about medieval Jewish, Islamic and Christian thought.
Che cos’è questo libro
The Guide for the Perplexed is a work of philosophy and Bible interpretation by Moses Maimonides, the physician and rabbi who was born in Córdoba and ended his life in Egypt. He wrote it in Arabic, using Hebrew letters, in the late twelfth century. It takes the form of a long letter to a gifted student named Joseph, who loved the Torah and had also learned Greek and Arabic philosophy, and who was troubled because the two seemed to disagree.
Maimonides was already known for his commentary on the Mishnah and for the Mishneh Torah, a vast code of Jewish law. The Guide is a different kind of book. It does not tell you what to do. It asks what you mean when you say the word God, why the Bible speaks of a God with hands and a throne, how a good world can hold so much suffering, and why the commandments exist at all.
The book has three parts. Maimonides hides some of his teaching, scatters a topic across many chapters, and asks you to read in order. In return you get one of the boldest attempts ever made to show that faith and reason can share one house. Let us begin with the problem that started it all: a student caught between two kinds of truth.
In questo riassunto
- 1The book is a letter to a troubled studentFree
- 2God has no body, so words must be figurative
- 3We can say only what God is not
- 4Reason can prove that God exists
- 5The world's origin is unproven, so tradition decides
- 6Prophecy is a gift that must be prepared for
- 7Most evil comes from ignorance, not from God
- 8The commandments have reasons, and history explains many
- 9The highest worship is knowing and loving God
Punto chiave 1 di 9
The book is a letter to a troubled student
Maimonides opens with a dedication to Joseph, a student who had studied with him in Egypt and then moved away. Joseph had a sharp mind and a deep respect for the law. He had also met the philosophy of Aristotle and its Arabic interpreters, and he could not see how to hold both. Maimonides writes the book for readers like him, who trust the Torah and trust their own reason, and who feel pulled apart.
He states his main aim early. It is to explain the hard words and parables of the Bible, the ones that seem to say that God has a body, feels anger, or sits on a throne. A simple reader takes these words literally and ends up with a false picture of God. A proud philosopher may decide the whole Bible is childish. Maimonides wants to offer a third path, in which the text is honored and the mind is satisfied.
He argues that the prophets spoke in parables on purpose. A parable has an outer layer for everyone and an inner layer for those who are ready. He compares it to a golden apple wrapped in a silver net. From a distance you see only a shimmer of silver, but when you come close you see the gold within.
Then comes a strange warning. Maimonides lists seven reasons why a book may contradict itself, and he admits that in this book some contradictions are deliberate. They are there to hide the hardest matters from readers who are not prepared. He asks you to read the chapters in order, not to jump ahead, and not to teach the difficult parts to others without care.
What does this mean for you? Almost every chapter leans on an earlier one, and a clue in chapter ten may only pay off in chapter fifty. The reward Maimonides promises is not comfort. It is understanding, and he thinks that is the only thing that can really calm a perplexed mind.
That’s 1 of 9 key points.
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About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 282,000 words
- Reading timeAbout 18 h 45 min
- Listening time31 h 20 min
- FormatseBook, large-print eBook, audiobook, 15-minute summary
- LanguagesEnglish and 11 other languages
Questions about La guida dei perplessi
What is The Guide for the Perplexed about?
It is a medieval treatise by Maimonides on how to reconcile Jewish faith with philosophy. It explains the Bible's difficult words about God, discusses proofs of God's existence, prophecy, evil, providence, and gives reasons for the commandments.
Who was The Guide for the Perplexed written for?
Maimonides wrote it for a student named Joseph, who trusted the Torah but was troubled by philosophy. In a wider sense it is meant for educated believers who feel torn between religious tradition and the demands of reason.
What does negative theology mean in Maimonides?
It is the idea that we cannot truthfully say what God is, only what God is not. Describing God by positive qualities would suggest parts or likeness to humans, so denials of weakness or ignorance come closer to the truth.
Is The Guide for the Perplexed hard to read?
It uses ideas from Aristotelian science, and sometimes hides its meaning on purpose. Reading in order makes it far easier to follow.
When was The Guide for the Perplexed written and in what language?
Maimonides wrote it in the late twelfth century in Arabic, using Hebrew letters, which is known as Judeo-Arabic. It was soon translated into Hebrew and later into Latin, which spread its influence widely.