Wow! eBook
From Judah Hadassi to Elijah Bashyatchi: Studies in Late Medieval Karaite Philosophy: 4
Author(s): Daniel Lasker (Author)
- Publisher: BRILL
- Publication Date: 14 Aug. 2012
- Language: English
- Print length: 312 pages
- ISBN-10: 9004167935
- ISBN-13: 9789004167933
Book Description
This study challenges the oft-repeated assertion that Karaite thought remained unchanged throughout the Middle Ages. It discusses major Karaite thinkers and their writings, in addition to the impact of Karaism on Rabbanite Judaism, especially on the thought of Maimonides.
Editorial Reviews
From the Back Cover
The present study is a pioneering account of the development of late medieval Karaite Jewish thought, challenging the oft-repeated assertion that Karaite thinkers remained loyal to KalAm, the dominant theological philosophy during the earlier Golden Age of Karaism. A careful reading of Karaite sources demonstrates that the watershed figure whose influence led to changes in Karaite thought was the Rabbanite Maimonides, whose attacks on the KalAm had revealed its scientific shortcomings. This book discusses major Karaite thinkers from the twelfth to sixteenth centuries, as well as the central themes in their writings. It also outlines the impact of Karaism on the dominant Rabbanite Jews and their major thinkers, especially Maimonides. It should be of interest to all those who study medieval philosophy, intellectual history, Judaism and sectarianism.
About the Author
Daniel J. Lasker, Ph.D. (1976) in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies, Brandeis University, is the Norbert Blechner Professor of Jewish Values at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva. His books include Jewish Philosophical Polemics Against Christianity in the Middle Ages (1977; second edition, 2007); and an edition and translation of Hasdai Crescas Refutation of the Christian Principles.
