Who Were the Important Jewish Philosophers of the Medieval Period?

During the Medieval Period in the West, the Christian worldview predominated, yet it’s crucial to acknowledge the significant contributions of Muslim and Jewish thinkers to the philosophical discourse. Muslim scholars preserved Ancient Greek texts through translations, shaping intellectual dialogue. This article delves into notable Jewish philosophers of the era, including Saadiah Gaon, Solomon Ibn Gabirol, and the renowned Moses Maimonides. While these are key figures, numerous others also left enduring legacies in philosophy.

While the dominance of the Christian worldview marks the Medieval Period in the West, it is very important to remember the additional important contributions of Muslim and Jewish thinkers to the long conversation that is the history of philosophy. We have primarily Muslim scholars from the early Middle Ages to thank for keeping Ancient Greek texts in circulation through their translations.

However, we will focus on answering the question of who some of the important Jewish philosophers of this period were. Though there are, of course, several other important examples, we will focus on the following three: Saadiah Gaon, Solomon Ibn Gabirol, and perhaps the most familiar, Moses Maimonides.

Philosophy in the Medieval Period

There are important differences to note relating to religion. The Ancient Greeks and Romans were polytheists, whereas Jews, Christians, and Muslims were monotheists. Moreover, the one God is supreme in every way, whereas the Ancient Greek and Roman Gods were not always understood to be complete sovereigns of their domains of the world. Ancient Greek and Roman philosophers tended to pursue ultimate truths, where reason reigned over faith. This was turned around in the Middle Ages, where, despite the need to continue philosophizing, it generally revolved around presenting the case for faith reigning over reason.

What humans, therefore, were most concerned about during the Medieval Period were spiritual questions, such as how to achieve salvation. Thus, the previous philosophical perspectives employed were generally those that harmonized well with the Judeo-Christian view, such as that of Plato and Aristotle. We find, therefore, a revival of Neo-Platonism, especially in the earlier part of the Medieval period, and a revival of Aristotelianism, especially in the later Medieval Period.

As noted, we have largely Muslim philosophers to thank for keeping ancient texts in circulation, which in some cases also led to some overlap in influence; in fact, the first Jewish philosophers from this period developed in Muslim territories, especially Babylonia.

Of these three monotheistic religions, Judaism is the oldest. Judaism was born about one thousand years before the birth of the Ancient civilization of Greece. However, with the rise of Christianity came problems for the Jewish people, as despite their common heritage they became increasingly separate.

Some particularly poignant differences led to some violent clashes between the two groups. For example, the Jews viewed followers of Jesus Christ as having renounced what they believed was the true religion. The rough historical relations between the Jews and the Romans eventually led to some protections, but the Jews, in response, tried to deny this to the Christians. There were many pogroms during the Crusades. There was one place where, for a time, in Spain, the three monotheistic religions lived peacefully together in Spain, but this would become all the opposite at the end of this period with the Inquisition. However, in general, none of the history from this period prevented the flowering of some important Jewish contributions to the history of philosophy. Three individuals in particular will be reviewed here: Saadiah Gaon, Solomon Ibn Gabirol, and perhaps the most familiar, Moses Maimonides.

Saadiah Gaon

Given the general common thread of philosophers working to reconcile faith and reason, Saadiah Gaon (882-942 CE) was no exception to this. Gaon can be considered the first Jewish philosopher from this period (at least, from what we have on record). Drawing from Neoplatonism primarily, Gaon argued that rational philosophy and biblical doctrine come from the same source.

His reasoning went something like this: First, he argued that certainty comes from three main sources: senses, reason, and tradition. The senses provide us with knowledge, but we can also make mistakes. So, they give us some basic knowledge, but some bigger questions cannot be answered via the senses, and that is where reason comes in. For example, it is reason, not the senses, that can help us understand where the world came from and how.

He argued that there are two kinds of reasons: rational intuition and rational inference. The former helps us with truths, and the second helps us find answers. Knowledge of reason is often a combination of the intellect with sensory information, certain intuitive truths that are verified with the senses. The second, inferential knowledge, generally takes the first two and employs the use of deduction to aim for further certainties, such as in science. The important summarizing point is that he always leaves room here for the possibility of error.

And finally, there is tradition. The most important tradition dictated for the Jewish people is the Bible. What he is trying to do here is make a distinction between the kind of “tradition” that creates a community and keeps them unified compared to the Biblical tradition, whose truths rest on revelation; there is no involvement of verification through human sensory knowledge. Still, he emphasizes the need for the three forms of knowledge to ultimately agree.

The next important Jewish philosopher we will discuss here from this period was Solomon Ibn Gabirol (1021-1058), who despite being a devout Jew, does not draw much from Judaism. He was mostly influenced by Neoplatonism, but there are some Aristotelian elements in his work as well.

Arguably, his biggest impact would be in metaphysical thought. Essentially, he argued that everything is made up of matter and form, but in a hierarchical sense. The universe consists of the Godhead at the top, which is immaterial and formless, and base matter at the bottom. This would be especially influential in the Aristotelian thought of the thirteenth century.

Gabirol’s work was very representative of the Medieval Period, spanning all religious backgrounds, in his exploration of the human being as a microcosm of the universe. This is very tied to Neoplatonic thought: we are rational beings capable of seeing how we are such miniature versions of the larger whole.

Thus, our aim is universal knowledge. And like Gaon, Gabirol divides knowledge into three types. First, everything in this world is comprised of form and matter (there is some influence here from Aristotle as well, but there are also some ways in which he deviates from the Aristotelian view). The second is a will, which is the source of all the things comprised of form and matter because those earthly things cannot be self-caused. The third domain of knowledge is the ultimate source, God; this he refers to as the First Substance, which is not directly comprehensible by humans. Thus, there is a kind of direct knowledge, inferential knowledge, and “knowledge” that is not directly accessible. This three-part system is the basic structure of his metaphysical position on reality.

Moses Maimonides (1138-1204) also worked toward the reconciliation of philosophy and religion, of the teachings of the Bible with the teachings of philosophy. He was a man very much in the throes of the long conversation that is the history of philosophy, openly indebting himself to important thinkers of the past, especially Averroes and Aristotle. Ultimately, some of his ideas were considered blasphemous to some, but interest in his work continued after he died.

One of the reasons for this is because his work is arguably the most inclusive and complete attempt to reconcile religion and philosophy; specifically, Aristotelian thought with that of the Torah. However, it should be noted that not all of his work was infused with Aristotelianism; there is some influence from Plato as well.

Much of his work centers on the position of negation: humans are lacking in many qualities and capacities; thus, we can also only speak of God in terms of negation. This is also because, he argues, we are not like God, so when we say “God is all-knowing,” all we can really say is that God is not limited-knowing. His goal here is primarily to remind humankind of the limits to our knowledge.

Despite this emphasis on negation and our complete lack of any commonality with God, he did have a position on what the aim of life should be—toward God. Our goal should procedurally be to know, love, and work to try to imitate God. This means that knowledge can lead to the love of God, and we express this love through our attempts at imitation of God. Intellectual perfection should be our pursuit, but it is ultimately unattainable.

What makes a philosopher “significant” in the history of philosophy? Perhaps that cannot be answered with complete agreement. We may differ on the criteria applied. Here, I discussed just three, but there were, of course, many other important Jewish philosophers during this period.

Part of the reason in this case for the choices is brevity. But arguably despite the criteria, one individual who would likely always be included in any writing on Jewish philosophy during the Middle Ages is Moses Maimonides. Quite simply, one important criterion is being widely read and referenced. In the history of philosophy, sometimes the best works are influential not for the answers they propose, but the conversation it enriches or sparks.

Maimonides was certainly such an individual, as well as the other two included here, and many others. They were very representative of the age as well, as most philosophy in general in the West during this period was about working toward a reconciliation with faith. These were important individuals in this endeavor.