One of the great debates about Moses Maimonides’ philosophical magnum opus, the Guide of the Perplexed, concerns the degree to which it should be taken at face value. Was Maimonides a true believer in a synthesis of reason and revealed religion, or was a he a skeptic who, between the lines, hid his belief in an impersonal and purely philosophical God? In a recent study, Moshe Halbertal delves into this question; Daniel Davies draws his own conclusions:
Despite Halbertal’s claim to present the opinions of other scholars rather than his own, he follows the line that the variety of interpretations may themselves reveal the secret message. On this reading, Maimonides did not teach any particular doctrine but presented alternative possible solutions to questions that admit of no definite answer. The different answers are so diverse that a coherent reading of the Guide is “doomed to failure.”
Maybe the works of all or most great philosophers contain inconsistencies, and Maimonides would be no exception. But Halbertal presents too little evidence to establish his claim that these inconsistencies constitute the ultimate secret of the Guide. Such a reading might, however, make Maimonides appealing to today’s readers, and it points to another important and brilliant aspect of the Guide: its pedagogical excellence. Maimonides designed this single text to address students of different levels, and it continues to speak to modern readers with diverse interests from different religious traditions.
Read more on Marginalia: http://marginalia.lareviewofbooks.org/revolutionary-heart-traditional-judaism-daniel-davies/