Moses Maimonides is not only fun to say (alliteration!), but also the name of one of the most important philosophers of the Middle Ages. Born around 1135 in Spain, Maimonides was influenced by the great mix of religious cultures that made the Medieval Iberian peninsula unique. And this brings me to one of his most famous works: _The Guide for the Perplexed_, a title that has stayed a lot more relevant than the book’s contents for most people.
Maimonides was Jewish but lived in Muslim-dominated countries, and so wrote _The Guide for the Perplexed_ in Classical Arabic using the Hebrew alphabet. And it used the Ancient Greek Aristotle’s philosophy to interpret Jewish theology — but after, many Medieval Christian theologians referred to it. A stereotype of the Middle Ages is that it was marked by extreme religious intolerance, but Maimonides’ life and works clearly show another story.
Moses Maimonides was also a physician and astronomer, and — unusual for the time — scoffed at astrology. He said the evidence for it wasn’t good enough, and that humans should accept as truth things that can be proven with rationality, evidence of the senses, or trustworthy authority. In fact, those sound like pretty good criteria to me.
I finish this post with a piece of advice from Maimonides that I really like: “Teach thy tongue to say ‘I do not know,’ and thou shalt progress”.
Sources: MS The Copenhagen Maimonides, Danish Royal Library Cod Heb 37, f227 v. BBC Religions, “Moses Maimonides, philosopher.” Brainy Quote. Wikipedia.
