ABSTRACT
Maimonides offered some responses to his critics, but his declining health and seeming frustration with his opponents prevented him from fully entering into debate. Like works by Aristotle and other Islamic philosophers, Maimonides’s The Guide of the Perplexed depicted god’s incorporeal nature as fundamental to any theological or philosophical discourse, which gave rise to substantial criticism. A common theme among Maimonides’s critics was that The Guide posed a threat to the traditional understanding of the Jewish religion. Since typical readings of scripture relied on the interpretations of previous rabbis and God’s particular revelation to the Jews, Maimonides’s emphasis on secular thought stood in sharp contrast to the rabbinic academy. In many ways, Maimonides’s critics highlight the perennial division between faith and reason, or simple belief versus scientific and philosophical inquiry.
