The Influence of Christian Scholasticism upon Jewish Philosophy in the Late Middle Ages

• In Event: Christian Influences on Medieval Jewish Philosophy and Theology

Abstract

The late medieval period witnessed an interchange of ideas between Jewish thought and Christian scholastic philosophy. While one might anticipate that the heightened animosity between Christianity and Judaism and the threat of forced conversion to Christianity during the late Middle Ages would have impeded the influence of Christian philosophy on Judaism, it was precisely the heightened tension between Jews and Christians, expressed through increased polemical activity between Jewish and Christian scholars, that motivated Jews to enhance their understanding of Christian philosophical and theological doctrines. Jewish philosophers became well-versed in Christian doctrine in an effort to teach their coreligionists how to defend themselves against Christian attacks. However, the Christian scholastic influence upon Jewish thinkers was not only due to polemical motivations; rather, Jewish philosophers were also interested in Christian Scholasticism for its intellectual merits and desired to develop philosophically along with the evolution of European thought by absorbing Scholastic doctrines and methods useful for the advancement of Jewish thought. To that end, Jewish philosophers composed philosophical treatises in which they discussed similar questions and utilized similar methods and concepts as Christian Scholastics. This paper focuses on the general impact of Christian scholasticism upon late medieval Jewish philosophy, as well as its particular impact upon one of the most popular works within the corpus, Joseph Albo’s Book of Principles [Sefer ha-’Ikkarim].

Author

• Shira Weiss, Ben Gurion University