Maimonides

Bach to Books features a free presentation from Maimonides scholar Daniel Cundiff, 7:00 p.m., Thursday, November 12.   One of the greatest scholars of all time, Maimonides was a rabbi, physician, and philosopher living in Morocco, Egypt and the then Arab-controlled Spain during the Middle Ages. 

The Readable History Book Club is discussing Maimonides by Sherwin B. Nuland, for their November selection.   Members will be attending this November 12 program in lieu of their regular meeting on November 19.

Because Maimonides was highly fluent in Arabic, Hebrew, Greek and Latin, he could study the lost books of Aristotle. He discovered them at libraries in Egypt, but they were in Arabic.  He could read Arabic and write commentary in Greek or Latin, which enhanced our understanding of Aristotle and other Western philosophers today.  During the disintegration of the Roman Empire, most, if not all, of the original works of Greek and Roman philosophers were destroyed.  Fortunately, many of the works were translated into Arabic and deposited at libraries in Egypt. Since they were on papyrus and clay tablets, the dry climate preserved them for hundreds of years.  Some argue that the discovery of the lost Roman and Greek texts by the philosophers of the Middle Ages such as Maimonides initiated the Renaissance.  

Christians, Muslim Sultans, and Jews held Maimonides in esteem as a skillful physician and often sought his wise counsel. Although a preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher, his knowledge as a philosopher was revered by the major religious groups of his time.

A graduate of the University of North Texas, Daniel Cundiff also holds an M.A. in Philosophy from the University of Dallas and is completing a Ph.d. in Philosophy from the University of Dallas.  His dissertation is Maimonides and the West.  A primary focus is Classical Philosophy and Poetry as well as Medieval Christian thought with an emphasis on Thomas Aquinas.  Cundiff states, “My interest is in revivifying the question of "Jerusalem and Athens" or "Reason and Revelation."”  Maimonides' thought is pivotal for understanding this question both for the greatness of his own thought and for his influence on subsequent Jewish and Christian thinkers.”

Cundiff further declares, "There is no more pressing question, no more serious question, no more enduring question for the West than the question of 'Reason and Revelation'; Maimonides has been and continues to be a crucial teacher to whom one can turn for the deepest illumination on this question. My hope is that the audience will walk away with some sense of the importance of Maimonides for our own self-understanding.”
Philosophers such as Rumi, Maimonides and Averroes helped bridge gaps between Muslims, Christians and Jews.  One of the Bach to Books goals is to connect cultures, which is what Maimonides accomplished during the Middle Ages.

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