Hierarchies and the Rhetoric of Esotericism

Session Submission Type: Panel Session

Abstract

All medieval Jewish philosophers shared the hierarchical worldview of Neoplatonized Aristotelianism. By focusing on Abraham ibn Ezra, Judah Halevi, and Moses Maimonides, this session highlights the connection between metaphysical and cosmological hierarchies, social hierarchies, and esotericism.

Sub Unit

• Medieval Jewish Philosophy

Individual Presentations

• Abraham ibn Ezra's Esoteric Interpretation of the Tabernacle - Sara Doris Labaton

• Purposeful ambiguity as persuasive strategy: The Karaites as portrayed in Judah Halevi’s Kitāb al-Khazarī (The Book of Kuzari) - Marzena Zawanowska, University of Warsaw

• Natural hierarchy and natural equality in Maimonides: an analysis of ‘Laws Concerning Slaves’, 9: 8 - David Gillis