Studies and Texts in Medieval Jewish Philosophy and Science in Honor of Resianne Fontaine: Officina Philosophica Hebraica Volume 5 (Studies in Jewish History and Culture, 87/5)

This vibrant collection of studies in medieval Jewish philosophy and science, published in honor of the distinguished scholar of medieval Jewish thought, Resianne Fontaine, brings together twenty original articles by leading scholars in the field. The contributions explore a wide range of questions, such as how the genres of commentary and encyclopedic writing proved crucial to the preservation and transformation of Aristotelian philosophy as it moved across cultures and languages; how medieval authors, translators, and scribes, driven by good intentions, sought to clarify difficult materials yet sometimes rendered them incomprehensible; how Hebrew translators’ failure to distinguish between Arabic terms for “truth” and “certainty” resulted in key aspects of Islamic Aristotelianism not making their way into Hebrew thought; and whether Maimonides had a sense of humor. Several of the studies feature first editions and translations of engaging texts. Together, these studies constitute a significant contribution to the study of medieval Jewish philosophy and science, intellectual history, and the transmission of knowledge across cultural and linguistic boundaries.

Steven Harvey, Ph.D. Harvard University (1977), is Professor Emeritus of Jewish and Islamic Philosophy at Bar-Ilan University and President of the Commission for Jewish Philosophy of the Société internationale pour l’étude de la philosophie médiévale (SIEPM). He has published extensively on a wide variety of subjects in medieval Jewish and Islamic philosophy.

Niran Garshtein, Ph.D. Bar-Ilan University (2021), is a postdoctoral fellow at the Cohn Institute for the History and Philosophy of Science and Ideas at Tel Aviv University. His research focuses on the reception of scientific and philosophical knowledge in medieval Jewish cultures, with particular interest in the history of astronomy, astrology, and mathematics.

Giuseppe Veltri is full professor of Jewish Philosophy and Religion (University of Hamburg). Since 2010 he is honorary Professor for Comparative Religious studies (University of Leipzig), since 2015 is director of the “Maimonides Centre for Advanced Studies” (Hamburg) and of the “Institute of Jewish Studies” (Hamburg). He is editor of the De Gruyter Brill series Studies in Jewish History and Cultures.