In a recent book, James A. Diamond explores how the philosophical ideas of Moses Maimonides were received by medieval and modern Jewish thinkers. Diamond, in a conversation with the theologian Alan Brill, discusses his book and his own approach to Maimonides and to his philosophical magnum opus, Guide of the Perplexed:
The Guide is also far more than a philosophical treatise. I begin my book with an observation . . . by Leo Strauss, that it “is not a philosophic book—a book written by a philosopher for philosophers—but a Jewish book: a book written by a Jew for Jews.” When I first began my studies on Maimonides, I thought this a trite observation. However, over the years, I came increasingly to appreciate its full import. Overlaying the Guide’s undercurrent of Aristotelian philosophy, medieval cosmology, and logic is a very Jewish work. Its relentless citation of biblical and rabbinic sources renders it much more a book of exegesis than strictly a philosophical treatise.
The Guide, I believe, in its entirety, fits into the age-old tradition of rereading Judaism’s sacred texts both on a micro-level of individual words and a macro-level of passages or units called “parables.” Maimonides’ intended audience is Jewish; his core subject matter consists exclusively of philosophical issues filtered through Jewish texts; the very writing of the Guide is grounded in a halakhic dispensation of openly transmitting forbidden esoteric subjects; and the existential angst he aims at relieving the conflict between the Torah and philosophy is a Jewish one.
Read more on Book of Doctrines and Opinions: https://kavvanah.wordpress.com/2015/01/08/interview-with-prof-james-diamond/