Leo Strauss on the Borders of Judaism, Philosophy, and History

"Jerusalem refers to the way of life based on obedience to divine law, while Athens refers to the way of life based on the human search for wisdom." [...]Jerusalem' is the name that indicates the desire to live a life based in the mercy characteristic of obedience to (divine) law,&quo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inShofar Vol. 34; no. 3; pp. 107 - 109
Main Author Havers, Grant
Format Book Review Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published West Lafayette Purdue University Press 22.03.2016
Subjects
Buber, Martin (1878-1965)
Christianity
Diachronic analysis
God
Humans
Judaic philosophy
Judaism
Maimonides (Moses ben Maimon) (1135-1204)
Morality
Obedience
Philosophers
Philosophical analysis
Philosophy
Religion
Spiritual belief systems
Spiritual love
Theology
Jerusalem Israel
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Summary:"Jerusalem refers to the way of life based on obedience to divine law, while Athens refers to the way of life based on the human search for wisdom." [...]Jerusalem' is the name that indicates the desire to live a life based in the mercy characteristic of obedience to (divine) law," whereas "'Athens' is the name that indicates the desire to live a life based in free human inquiry and contemplation-that is, in thought and speech." Yet this fundamental difference need not lead to absolute opposition, since they are both committed to answering the question "what is the best or most just life." [...]the philosophers of Athens need Jerusalem, so that they can understand just how different the lives of the philosopher and the believer happen to be.
ISSN:0882-8539
1534-5165
DOI:10.5703/shofar.34.3.0107