Maimonides’ Guide of the Perplexed in New Garb
Lukas Mühlethaler
Additional information / Pre-requisites
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Maimonides’ Guide for the Perplexed (Dalalat al-Ha’irin; Moreh Nevukhim) is one of the central texts of Jewish philosophy, and a classic of intellectual history in general. Despite the text’s broad impact and the virtually endless modern secondary literature, often only parts of the text are read. In this reading course, we will read Maimonides’ “Guide” from cover to cover. The occasion for this course is also the publication of the new English translation (May 2024) by Lenn E. Goodman and Phillip I. Lieberman, which we can compare with the classical translation by Shlomo Pines. Participants can also read along with the Arabic original and (medieval/modern) Hebrew translations, as well as other modern translations, and we will incorporate those into our discussions. However, knowledge of Arabic or Hebrew is not required for participation. While the course will be conducted in a way that allows English and German speakers to follow along, students will need reading proficiency in English.
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Regular appointments