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Course
Description
The
purpose of this course is to acquaint the student with the central
concepts of
traditional Jewish philosophy. It is
during the medieval period, for the most part in the Islamic world,
that Jewish
philosophy first developed and flourished. It
was through the work of the great Islamic philosophers
(such as
Averroes, Avicenna, and Al-Ghazali) that Jewish thinkers rediscovered
ancient
Greek philosophy, which in turn had an enormous impact on how they
conceived
their own tradition. We shall look at
how the most important Jewish philosophers of this age--Saadia Gaon, Judah Halevi, Moses Maimonides,
and others--used philosophical ideas and arguments in order to
understand and
defend the fundamental tenets of their own religion.
After having discussed the problem of the
relation between reason and revelation, we shall proceed topically,
examining
such central issues as proofs for the existence of God, the nature of
miracles,
the problems of free will and evil, and the question of Jewish ethics. Although our discussion of each topic will
focus on Jewish thinkers in the medieval period, we will also consider
modern
critiques of these canonical views, and ask whether catastrophic modern
events,
such as the Holocaust, might force us to reevaluate the answers to
central
philosophical questions of religious belief formulated in earlier times.
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Assignments
and Grading Policy
The course
requirements are as follows. All
students are expected to have read the assigned material in
advance of the class period in which it will be discussed. I will base on your grade on the three
following assignments:
1) DAILY READING
RESPONSE PAPER (100 points total): Each
day
at the beginning of class on Thursday you will hand in a typed response
to one
of the questions listed under the topic heading for each day’s
assignment. (Since we are spending more
than one day on
several topics, you can write your second or third response on a
different
philosopher.) You ought to consider the
response of one or two of the philosophers we have read that week. You must refer to the readings as part of the
response.
Each response
paper will
be graded as either “good” (5 points), “satisfactory” (4 points), or
“unsatisfactory”
(2 points). You will receive a satisfactory grade on each
assignment if
you: (a) write a minimum of 250 words; (b) present the material
systematically (i.e., state the problem and the response to it) with
reference
to the readings; and (c) show a minimal degree of comprehension.
The
first time that you turn in an unsatisfactory guide I will give you the
opportunity
to rewrite it (within two days after it has been handed back) in order
to
receive a satisfactory grade. Each time that you do not turn in a
study
guide you will receive 0 points. Except in the case of documented
illness
late papers will receive a maximum of 3
points. You can turn in a late paper up
to two days after the original due date.
After that point I will no longer accept them. There are 20 papers due for a possible total
of 100 points. A minimum overall score
of 53 points is required to pass this assignment.
2) MID-TERM
TAKE-HOME EXAM (150 Points): You will be
required to answer several questions in short essay form.
The exam questions will be distributed in
class on Friday, June 29th, and will be due at the beginning
of
class on Tuesday, July 3rd. This
will be an open-book exam. Late exams
will be penalized. A mininum of 80
points is required to pass this assignment.
3) FINAL IN-CLASS
EXAM (150 Points): The final exam will
take place on Wednesday, July 18th, in Savery 341. It will cover material from the whole course
but will focus on material from the second half of the course (i.e.,
after the
midterm). This will be a closed-book
exam. A mininum of 80 points is required
to pass this assignment.
Final Grade: Your final grade will be computed on the basis of the
assignments you have turned in. There is a total possible point
score of
400 points. Below you will find a conversion table. The
first
column represents total points for the course. The second column
represents the grade for total of weekly papers. The
third column represents the grade for
either the midterm or the final exam.
The fourth column represents the approximate letter grade
equivalent. And the fifth column is the UW
grading-scale equivalent. (Please note that while I will
use this table as a basis for the final grades in the course I reserve
the
right to make adjustments to it in the service of fairness.)
392-400
98-100
147-150 A+
4.0
372-391
93-97
140-146
A
3.9-3.7
356-371
89-92 134-149
A-
3.6-3.5
340-355
85-88 128-133
B+
3.4-3.2
324-339
81-84 122-127
B
3.1-2.8
308-323
77-80 116-121
B-
2.7-2.5
292-307
73-76 110-115
C+
2.4-2.2
276-291
69-72 104-109
C
2.1-1.8
260-275
65-68 98-103
C-
1.7-1.5
244-259
61-64 92-97
D+
1.4-1.2
228-243
57-60 86-91
D
1.1-0.8
212-227
53-56 80-85
D-
0.7
0-211
0-52
0-79
F 0.0
Nota Bene: (1) In order to pass this course students are
required
to: a) have enough total points (i.e., at least 212 points); and
also
b) pass (i.e., receive at least 53 points in) in two of the three
components of
the course (i.e., the weekly response paper, the midterm exam, and the
final
exam). If you have enough total points
to pass but do not pass two of the three components you will fail the
course. Absolutely no exceptions will be made to this policy.
(2) In some cases,
when I calculate the final grade, I will also consider such factors as
improvement and class participation.
(3) Academic
Misconduct. Cheating in any form
(including plagiarism,
of course) will result in automatic referal to the Dean’s office. You are assumed to understand the university
rules concerning inappropriate academic conduct, including what
constitutes
plagiarism. If you have any questions,
please do not hesitate to contact the instructor.
Disabled
Student Services. If you would
like to request academic accommodations
due to a disability, please contact Disabled Student Services, 448
Schmitz,
(206) 543-8924 (V/TTY). If you have a
letter from Disabled Student Services indicating you have a disability
that
requires academic accommodations, please present the letter to me
within the
first week of the course so we can discuss the accommodations you might
need
for the class.
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Books
There are three
required texts for this class and they are on sale at the University
Bookstore.
1) D.
Frank, O. Leaman, and C. Manekin (eds.), The
Jewish Philosophy
Reader, Routledge
(ISBN: 0-415-16860-0) [abbreviated JPR].
2) H. Lewy, A.
Altmann, and I. Heinemann (eds.), 3 Jewish Philosophers, Toby
Press
(ISBN: 978-1592641475) [abbreviated TJP]
3) I. Twersky, A
Maimonides Reader, Behrman, (ISBN: 0-87441-206-4) [abbreviated MR].
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Class
Schedule and Required Readings
The reading and
lecture schedule will be roughly as follows.
The week's topic is listed first with some questions that
we will
discuss and to which you will respond in your weekly assignment. Next to the topic are the tentative dates
when this topic will be discussed in class.
1.
INTRODUCTION: What is Jewish Philosophy?
(June 18)
-Jewish Tradition
and modes of interpretation.
-Jewish Philosophy
and Gentile Philosophy
2. REASON AND
REVELATION (June 18, 19)
-What is the
relation between reason and revelation?
Are the two compatible or do they conflict?
Why were Maimonides' "Thirteen
Principles" controversial?
Reading:
a) Saadya: p. 25-47 (TJP)
b) Maimonides
--Mishnah
Torah (in MR):
pp. 35-48, 65 (sec. 11-12), 71-76, 83-85, 95 (Mezuzah
6:13), 145-6 (Trespass 8:8), 149-50 (Substitute
4:13), 154 (Immersion 11:12),
112-3 (New Moon 17:25).
--Commentary
on Mishnah:
Helek (in MR): pp.
401-423.
--Guide: Dedication and
Introduction (MR: 234-246), III: 51-2 (MR: 341-350), I: 31-35 (MR: 252-265)
c) Halevi:
Bk. I (all), IV: sections
1-23, V: 15, 21 (TJP).
d) Leo Strauss “The
Mutual Influence of Theology and Philosophy” (JPR, 570-582).
3. CREATION,
ETERNITY, AND PROOFS OF GOD'S EXISTENCE
(June 20-21)
-Is it possible to
prove that God exists? What kind of
being must God be? What are the
central
arguments advanced by medieval philosophers?
Are they successful? What is
God's relation to time? How is creation
possible?
Reading:
a) Saadya: pp. 49-73 (TJP).
b) Maimonides: Guide, II: 13-16,
25, 27, 29, 31
(MR: 278-291).
c) Halevi: I: secs. 10-25 (pp. 33-35,
TJP), 62-79 (pp.
37-41, TJP).
d) Creation: Divine Power and Human
Freedom (JPR, 7-38)
4. GOD'S
ATTRIBUTES (June 22, 25)
-What are the
principle attributes of God? Why must
God be incorporeal? What is the status
of passages in the Bible that are clearly anthropomorphic?
Why is it important that the attributes form
a unity? What kind of knowledge can we
have of them? What are they?
What is negative theology?
Reading:
a) Saadya: pp. 75-92 (TJP).
b) Maimonides: Guide, I: 1-2, 17,
31-35 (252-265),
54, 59, 71 (MR: 246-277); III, 54
(MR: 352-358).
c) Halevi: II: secs. 1-8, IV: secs. 1-23
(TJP).
5. PROPHECY AND REVELATION (June 26-27)
-How is God's will
revealed to man? What is the
epistemological status of prophecy? Is
the prophecy of Moses unique? What are
the political implications of prophetic knowledge?
Reading:
a) Saadya: pp. 93-114 (TJP).
b) Maimonides: Guide:
II, 39-40 (MR: 291-296)
c) Halevi: II, sections 9-24 (pp. 64-70,
TJP).
d) Spinoza,
Theological-Political Treatise (JPR, 309-318)
e) Prophecy and the
Community (JPR, 461-476)
6. MIRACLES (June 28-29)
-Are miracles
consistent with natural law or are they exceptions to it?
Are we justified in believing miracles?
Reading:
a) Saadya: pp. 105-108 (TJP).
b) Maimonides: Guide:
III, 32, 34 (MR: 327-335);
also Eight
Chapters, p. 383 (MR).
c) Halevi: I, sections 1-95 (pp. 27-45,
TJP).
e) Spinoza,
Theological-Political Treatise (JPR, 327-331)
7. GOD'S OMNISCIENCE
AND HUMAN FREEDOM (July 2-3)
-Is God's
omniscience (which implies foreknowledge of all events) compatible with
human
freedom?
Reading:
a) Saadya: pp. 115-125 (TJP).
b) Maimonides: Guide, III: 16,
19-21 (xerox).
c) Halevi: (xerox)
d) Free Will and
Divine Foreknowledge (JPR, 120-125).
8. GOD'S PROVIDENCE
AND THE PROBLEM OF EVIL (July 5-6, 9)
-If God ordains all
things, and God is benevolent, then how is evil possible?
How does this affect the notion of reward and
punishment, in this world or in the next?
Reading:
a) "The Book of
Job," in the Bible.
b) Saadya: pp. 127-39, 148-54, 181-91
(TJP).
c) Maimonides: Guide, III: 8, 12, 24 (MR: 299-310);
22-3 (xerox)
d) Halevi: Halevi:
pp. 45-49, 72-75, 98-101, 120-21 (TJP).
e) Job and Divine Providence (JPR, 60-86).
f) Evil and
Suffering (JPR, 489-509).
g) Holocaust (JPR,
538-551)
9. THE RATIONALITY
OF THE COMMANDMENTS (July 10-11)
-To what extent can
we rationally justify the commandments of the Torah?
Why is this useful or important? What
is the role of philosophy in this
enterprise?
Reading:
a) Saadya: pp. 93-105 (TJP).
b) Maimonides: Guide, III: 26-36 (MR:
310-340).
c) Halevi: pp. 70-72, 75-79, 85-90 (TJP).
d) The Aqedah (JPR, 39-45)
10. ETHICS AND
POLITICS (July 12-13)
-Is there a Jewish
ethics that is distinct from Jewish law (halahka)?
In what way are reward and punishment
significant?
-What are the
political implications of Jewish messianism?
-What is the role of
Israel and modern Zionism?
Reading:
a) Saadya: pp.
167-79 (3JP).
b) Maimonides: Guide, III, 31 (MR: 326-7); The Eight Chapters, pp.
361-386 (MR); Mishnah Torah, pp. 135-139 (Seeds), pp.
215-227 (Judges).
c) Halevi: Bk. III
(TJP).
d) Justice (JPR,
90-104).
e) The State of Israel/Zionism (JPR, 552-569).
11. PRAYER
(July 16)
-What is the purpose
of prayer for each thinker? What conception(s) of God is (are) implicit
in the
practice of prayer? Why might this lead
to mysticism? What is the importance of
repentance in Judaism?
Reading:
a) Maimonides: Guide, III, 51-54
(MR: 341-358); Mishnah Torah: Adoration, pp. 87-100 (MR).
b) Halevi: pp. 86-89, 95-101 (TJP).
c) Prayer and Faith
(JPR, 105-119).
d) Belief (JPR,
583-605).
12. WHY DOES PHILOSOPHY MATTER TO RELIGION? (July 17)
-We will discuss
various themes that we have treated in the course and return to the
initial
question about revelation, tradition, and reason.
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