Abraham ibn Daud
Encyclopedia
Abraham ibn Daud was a Spanish-Jewish
astronomer
, historian
, and philosopher; born at Toledo, Spain
about 1110; died, according to common report, a martyr
about 1180. He is sometimes known by the abbreviation Rabad I or Ravad I. His mother belonged to a family famed for its learning. His chronicle, a work written in 1161 under the title of Sefer ha-Kabbalah (Book of Tradition), in which he fiercely attacked the contentions of Karaism
and justified rabbinical Judaism by the establishment of a chain of traditions from Moses
to his own time, is replete with valuable general information, especially relating to the time of the Geonim
and to the history of the Jews in Spain. An astronomical work written by him in 1180 is favorably noticed by Isaac Israeli the Younger ("Yesod 'Olam," iv. 18). His philosophical work, Al-'akidah al-Rafiyah (The Sublime Faith), written in 1168, in Arabic, has been preserved in two Hebrew translations: one by Solomon ben Labi, with the title Emunah Ramah; the other by Samuel Motot. Labi's translation was retranslated into German
and published by Simshon Weil.
which is generally attributed to Maimonides
and which differs from former systems of philosophy mainly in its more thorough systematic form derived from Aristotle. Accordingly, Hasdai Crescas
mentions Ibn Daud as the only Jewish philosopher among the predecessors of Maimonides (Or Adonai, ch. i.). But having been completely overshadowed by Maimonides' classical work, the Moreh Nebukim
, Abraham ibn Daud's Emunah Ramah ("Sublime Faith"), a work to which Maimonides himself was indebted for many valuable suggestions, received scant notice from later philosophers.
The only Jewish philosophical works that Ibn Daud had before him, according to his own statement ("Emunah Ramah," p. 2, or in German trans., p. 3), were Saadia's Emunot we-De'ot
, and "The Fountain of Life" by Solomon ibn Gabirol
. On the one hand, he fully recognizes the merits of Saadia Gaon
, although he does not adopt his views on the freedom of the will, notwithstanding that the solution of this problem was to be the chief aim and purpose of his whole system ("Emunah Ramah," p. 98; German trans., p. 125). On the other hand, his attitude toward Gabirol is entirely antagonistic, and even in the preface to his "Emunah Ramah" he pitilessly condemns Gabirol's "Fountain of Life." See Kaufmann, "Studien über Solomon ibn Gabirol," Budapest, 1899.
Being the first strict Aristotelian among the Jews—who considered Aristotle
and his Arabic commentators, Alfarabi and Ibn Sina, to be the only true philosophers (ib. pp. 23, 50, 62; German trans., pp. 30, 65, 78)—Ibn Daud feels himself provoked to constant opposition by the doctrines of Gabirol, who represents the Neoplatonic philosophy
. Impartial enough to accord to childlike faith its full rights, Ibn Daud desires also to defend the rights of reason, and, consequently, resists with the utmost energy any attempt to set bounds to science; regarding this as a culpable encroachment upon the plan of the Divine Ruler
, who did not endow man with the faculty of thought without intent.
True philosophy, according to Ibn Daud, does not entice us from religion; it tends rather to strengthen and solidify it. Moreover, it is the duty of every thinking Jew to become acquainted with the harmony existing between the fundamental doctrines of Judaism and those of philosophy, and, wherever they seem to contradict one another, to seek a mode of reconciling them. Ibn Daud insists that, however highly philosophy may be valued, the religion of Judaism is preferable. Knowledge, which had been acquired by philosophers through the evolution of several thousands of years, and after overcoming the gravest errors, had been bestowed upon Judaism from the beginning through revelation (ib. p. 62; German trans., p. 79). As to moral truths, it may be even assumed as probable that the philosophers did not attain to them through independent study, but rather under the influence of the doctrines of Holy Scripture (ib. p. 101; German trans., p. 130).
, who Himself, as First Cause, can not have any other cause of motion above Him, and must, therefore, be thought of as motionless. The Prime Mover is God. But this proof of the existence of God leaves still open two important questions relating to the truth of our knowledge of God: one concerning the incorporeality, and the other respecting the unity of God.
As to the incorporeal
ity of God, it follows logically from the notion of infinity which belongs to the First Cause of motion that no corporeal
thing can be infinite itself; nor can infinite force be attributed to it. But the Prime Mover is infinite; for, since He Himself is without motion, His force also remains unaffected by the motion of change and transformation. Therefore the Prime Mover—that is, God—can not be corporeal (ib. p. 47; German trans., p. 60).
But as a being of necessary existence, God must also be absolutely simple and single; inasmuch as the conception of a plurality in His essence would, at the same time, nullify the notion of the necessity of His existence. For the consolidation of this plurality into a unity must have been effected by another being different from itself; hence the existence of this plural being would be no more necessary, that is, determined by its own essence, but would be dependent upon that other being which brought about the unification (ib. p. 49; German trans., p. 63).
From the notion of absolute unity results the conception of the uniqueness of God; for if two beings of this kind could exist, the unity of God would be nullified, since to one, at least, of the units a special character must be attributed so as to distinguish it from the other (ib.). With the doctrine of the unity of God is connected the doctrine of the divine attributes, which is preceded in Abraham ibn Daud's system by the doctrine of the negative attributes, already accepted by Bahya ibn Paquda
("Ḥobot ha-Lebabot," i. 10) and by Judah ha-Levi (Kuzari
, ii. 2) from the older Arabic theology. According to Ibn Daud, only negative attributes, in the strict and proper sense, can be imputed to God; so that, whatever multiplicity of these negative attributes may be ascribed to Him, no multiplicity in the essence of God can result. Certainly this is equivalent to a renunciation of a positive conception of the Divine Being; for negative statements may suffice to prevent erroneous ideas, but a positive knowledge can never be obtained through them alone (ib. p. 5; German trans., p. 65). Indeed, our whole knowledge of God is limited to two certainties, (1) that He exists and (2) that His essence is incomprehensible (ib. p. 56; German trans., p. 71). In addition to the negative attributes, only relative attributes can be predicated of God; for even these latter, how many soever may be assumed, since they do not apply to the essence of God but only to His relation to the world, produce no modification in the notion of the unity of the Divine Being (ib. p. 54; German trans., p. 69).
From the speculative doctrines of faith, the truth of which can be proved only by reasoning, are to be distinguished the historical dogmas whose authenticity is based principally upon divine revelation, or, to speak more exactly, upon the historical tradition of such a revelation (ib. p. 69; German trans., p. 87). The tradition concerning an event that is reported to have taken place publicly before a great body of men, which originated, so to say, under the control of public opinion, without having been disputed by contemporaries, and has descended with an uninterrupted continuity, possesses an argumentativeness which can not be controverted even by the professional logician (ib. pp. 78, 81; German trans., pp. 98, 103). The trustworthiness of historical tradition forms a presumption in favor of the truth of prophecy
. In the true sense of the word, according to the axioms established above for the reliability of historical tradition, there can be only assertion of real prophecy when the divine revelations apply to important public matters; while those revelations which pertain to less important matters, or even to the personal affairs of a single individual, can not be classed under this head (ib. p. 71; German trans., p. 89). Thus, as ibn Daud remarks, perhaps with a reference to the miracles attributed to Jesus
, the authenticity of the Torah would be in a sorry plight if, instead of being based on miracles of real historic certainty, such as those of Moses, it were supported merely by miracles of such private character as the resurrections effected by Elijah and Elisha
(ib. p. 80; German trans., p. 101).
The connection between the mind of the prophet and the higher intellects, principally with the Active Intelligence, furnishes a sufficient explanation of the higher cognitive faculty of the prophet, as well as of his power of transcending natural law
. Appointed to become an intermediary between God and man, the prophet is elevated almost to the plane of the separated intelligences, or angel
s (ib. p. 73; German trans., p. 91).
and its relation to faith in a divine providence
, or predestination
, may be regarded as much nearer its solution. The objection that faith in a divine providence is inconsistent with the existence of evil
in the world, because God can not be the author of evil and good at the same time, is refuted by the fact that evil has no existence in itself, but is only the natural result of the absence of actual good, and that, consequently, evil needs no creator. The defects and imperfections which appear in this world are in nowise contradictory to the wisdom and goodness of God. The defects appear only to a finite conception which considers things separately and in themselves, and not in their connection with the whole. Viewed from a higher standpoint the imperfections adhering to things or individuals would perhaps, in their relation to the whole, even prove to be perfections and advantages (ib. p. 95; German trans., p. 121).
The human free-will as a subjective principle has for its objective correlate the notion of possibility, by which one of two alternatives may occur. This does not cause the divine omniscience to undergo any limitation; unless, misled by common usage, one should designate as "possible" those things whose undetermined state results not from their own essence, but only from our deficient knowledge of the essence. But this kind of possibility, which, indeed, is no possibility at all, must be eliminated from God as quite irreconcilable with His omniscience
. In its strict and precise form, the notion of possibility is not at all antagonistic to the omniscience of God; for it is easily conceivable that God from the beginning regulated creation, so that for certain cases both alternatives should be "possible" events; that the Creator, in order to grant to human liberty the opportunity to display its own energy, left the final issue of certain actions undecided even for His own knowledge (ib. p. 96; German trans., p. 123).
Human free-will, it is true, suffers a certain limitation through the variety of moral dispositions, partly due to natural causes, to be found in single individuals, as also in entire nations. But man is able to overcome his natural disposition and appetites, and to lift himself to a higher plane of morality, by purifying and ennobling himself (ib. p. 97; German trans., p. 124). The Torah, and the study of ethics which forms a part of practical philosophy and is designated, by an expression borrowed from Plato ("Gorgias," 464), as the "doctrine of the healing of souls," are the guiding stars to this exalted plane; but no scientific presentation of practical philosophy approaches in this regard the lofty heights of the Scriptures, wherein are clearly expressed the most sublime moral principles known to philosophers (ib. pp. 98, 101; German trans., pp. 126, 130).
The ceremonial laws also serve the purpose of moral education, and are, therefore, in view of their ethical tendency, to be numbered among the moral laws; although when compared with the doctrines of faith and the ethical laws proper, they have only a subordinate importance, as the Holy Scriptures also attribute to the sacrifices a relatively minor importance in comparison with the moral laws (ib. p. 102; German trans., p. 131).
History of the Jews in Spain
Spanish Jews once constituted one of the largest and most prosperous Jewish communities under Muslim and Christian rule in Spain, before the majority, together with resident Muslims, were forced to convert to Catholicism, be expelled or be killed when Spain became united under the Catholic Monarchs...
astronomer
Astronomy
Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
, historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
, and philosopher; born at Toledo, Spain
Toledo, Spain
Toledo's Alcázar became renowned in the 19th and 20th centuries as a military academy. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 its garrison was famously besieged by Republican forces.-Economy:...
about 1110; died, according to common report, a martyr
Martyr
A martyr is somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce, or accept, a belief or cause, usually religious.-Meaning:...
about 1180. He is sometimes known by the abbreviation Rabad I or Ravad I. His mother belonged to a family famed for its learning. His chronicle, a work written in 1161 under the title of Sefer ha-Kabbalah (Book of Tradition), in which he fiercely attacked the contentions of Karaism
Karaite Judaism
Karaite Judaism or Karaism is a Jewish movement characterized by the recognition of the Tanakh alone as its supreme legal authority in Halakhah, as well as in theology...
and justified rabbinical Judaism by the establishment of a chain of traditions from Moses
Moses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
to his own time, is replete with valuable general information, especially relating to the time of the Geonim
Geonim
Geonim were the presidents of the two great Babylonian, Talmudic Academies of Sura and Pumbedita, in the Abbasid Caliphate, and were the generally accepted spiritual leaders of the Jewish community world wide in the early medieval era, in contrast to the Resh Galuta who wielded secular authority...
and to the history of the Jews in Spain. An astronomical work written by him in 1180 is favorably noticed by Isaac Israeli the Younger ("Yesod 'Olam," iv. 18). His philosophical work, Al-'akidah al-Rafiyah (The Sublime Faith), written in 1168, in Arabic, has been preserved in two Hebrew translations: one by Solomon ben Labi, with the title Emunah Ramah; the other by Samuel Motot. Labi's translation was retranslated into German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
and published by Simshon Weil.
Philosophy
Ibn Daud was by no means an original thinker, nor did he produce a new philosophy; but he was the first to introduce that phase of Jewish philosophyJewish philosophy
Jewish philosophy , includes all philosophy carried out by Jews, or, in relation to the religion of Judaism. Jewish philosophy, until modern Enlightenment and Emancipation, was pre-occupied with attempts to reconcile coherent new ideas into the tradition of Rabbinic Judaism; thus organizing...
which is generally attributed to Maimonides
Maimonides
Moses ben-Maimon, called Maimonides and also known as Mūsā ibn Maymūn in Arabic, or Rambam , was a preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher and one of the greatest Torah scholars and physicians of the Middle Ages...
and which differs from former systems of philosophy mainly in its more thorough systematic form derived from Aristotle. Accordingly, Hasdai Crescas
Hasdai Crescas
Hasdai ben Judah Crescas was a Jewish philosopher and a renowned halakhist...
mentions Ibn Daud as the only Jewish philosopher among the predecessors of Maimonides (Or Adonai, ch. i.). But having been completely overshadowed by Maimonides' classical work, the Moreh Nebukim
Guide for the Perplexed
The Guide for the Perplexed is one of the major works of Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, better known as Maimonides or "the Rambam"...
, Abraham ibn Daud's Emunah Ramah ("Sublime Faith"), a work to which Maimonides himself was indebted for many valuable suggestions, received scant notice from later philosophers.
The only Jewish philosophical works that Ibn Daud had before him, according to his own statement ("Emunah Ramah," p. 2, or in German trans., p. 3), were Saadia's Emunot we-De'ot
Emunoth ve-Deoth
Emunoth ve-Deoth or Emunoth w'D'oth written by Rabbi Saadia Gaon - originally Kitāb ul-ʾamānāt wal-iʿtiqādāt - was the first systematic presentation and philosophic foundation of the dogmas of Judaism. The work is prefaced by an introduction and has ten chapters; it was completed in 933...
, and "The Fountain of Life" by Solomon ibn Gabirol
Solomon ibn Gabirol
Solomon ibn Gabirol, also Solomon ben Judah , was an Andalucian Hebrew poet and Jewish philosopher with a Neoplatonic bent. He was born in Málaga about 1021; died about 1058 in Valencia.-Biography:...
. On the one hand, he fully recognizes the merits of Saadia Gaon
Saadia Gaon
Saʻadiah ben Yosef Gaon was a prominent rabbi, Jewish philosopher, and exegete of the Geonic period.The first important rabbinic figure to write extensively in Arabic, he is considered the founder of Judeo-Arabic literature...
, although he does not adopt his views on the freedom of the will, notwithstanding that the solution of this problem was to be the chief aim and purpose of his whole system ("Emunah Ramah," p. 98; German trans., p. 125). On the other hand, his attitude toward Gabirol is entirely antagonistic, and even in the preface to his "Emunah Ramah" he pitilessly condemns Gabirol's "Fountain of Life." See Kaufmann, "Studien über Solomon ibn Gabirol," Budapest, 1899.
Being the first strict Aristotelian among the Jews—who considered Aristotle
Aristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
and his Arabic commentators, Alfarabi and Ibn Sina, to be the only true philosophers (ib. pp. 23, 50, 62; German trans., pp. 30, 65, 78)—Ibn Daud feels himself provoked to constant opposition by the doctrines of Gabirol, who represents the Neoplatonic philosophy
Neoplatonism
Neoplatonism , is the modern term for a school of religious and mystical philosophy that took shape in the 3rd century AD, based on the teachings of Plato and earlier Platonists, with its earliest contributor believed to be Plotinus, and his teacher Ammonius Saccas...
. Impartial enough to accord to childlike faith its full rights, Ibn Daud desires also to defend the rights of reason, and, consequently, resists with the utmost energy any attempt to set bounds to science; regarding this as a culpable encroachment upon the plan of the Divine Ruler
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
, who did not endow man with the faculty of thought without intent.
True philosophy, according to Ibn Daud, does not entice us from religion; it tends rather to strengthen and solidify it. Moreover, it is the duty of every thinking Jew to become acquainted with the harmony existing between the fundamental doctrines of Judaism and those of philosophy, and, wherever they seem to contradict one another, to seek a mode of reconciling them. Ibn Daud insists that, however highly philosophy may be valued, the religion of Judaism is preferable. Knowledge, which had been acquired by philosophers through the evolution of several thousands of years, and after overcoming the gravest errors, had been bestowed upon Judaism from the beginning through revelation (ib. p. 62; German trans., p. 79). As to moral truths, it may be even assumed as probable that the philosophers did not attain to them through independent study, but rather under the influence of the doctrines of Holy Scripture (ib. p. 101; German trans., p. 130).
Views on Aristotle
It is true that on certain points ibn Daud could not always avoid conflict with the doctrines of Aristotle: this was especially true in regard to the latter's theory of the creation. According to Aristotle, all coming into being results from the fusion of matter into a certain form; matter, therefore, is the necessary basis for any genesis; primary matter itself, as the substance common to all things existent, must, therefore, be without beginning and must be eternal. But the acceptance of preexistent and eternal matter can not be reconciled with the Biblical history of creation, which implies a creation out of nothing, and subject to time. From this conflict, which later caused Maimonides to dispute the authority of Aristotle in all matters transcendental, Ibn Daud was not able to extricate himself; and, therefore, he rather tries to glide over the existing difficulties than to solve them. For he represents the course of creation as a series of creative acts; which recalls Gabirol's doctrine concerning the succession of the various substances. But he himself subsequently admits that this was only a hypothesis to satisfy the need of giving an architectonic finish to our notions, intended to mark that gradual process of things which would result, had creation really gone through all the stages of existence, from primary matter, which is imperceptible to us, to all individual things, though some of these stages may be regarded as partly existing only in abstract notions. To concede the possibility of such a gradual process of creation, however, would be, according to ibn Daud, a contradiction of our conception of God's mode of acting.Theology
As to the doctrine of God, Abraham ibn Daud, like Aristotle and his Arabic interpreters, proceeding from the principle of motion, and basing his argument upon the proof of the impossibility of a regressus in infinitum, arrives at the conception of a First Cause of all motion, or of a Prime MoverCosmological argument
The cosmological argument is an argument for the existence of a First Cause to the universe, and by extension is often used as an argument for the existence of an "unconditioned" or "supreme" being, usually then identified as God...
, who Himself, as First Cause, can not have any other cause of motion above Him, and must, therefore, be thought of as motionless. The Prime Mover is God. But this proof of the existence of God leaves still open two important questions relating to the truth of our knowledge of God: one concerning the incorporeality, and the other respecting the unity of God.
As to the incorporeal
Incorporeal
Incorporeal or uncarnate means without the nature of a body or substance . The idea of incorporeality refers to the notion that there is an incorporeal realm of existence, or "place", that is distinct from the corporeal or material universe. Incorporeal beings or objects are not made out of matter...
ity of God, it follows logically from the notion of infinity which belongs to the First Cause of motion that no corporeal
Corporeal
Corporeal may refer to:*Corporeal undead, See also: :Category:Corporeal undead*Matter *Body, of or relating to the body*Corporeal...
thing can be infinite itself; nor can infinite force be attributed to it. But the Prime Mover is infinite; for, since He Himself is without motion, His force also remains unaffected by the motion of change and transformation. Therefore the Prime Mover—that is, God—can not be corporeal (ib. p. 47; German trans., p. 60).
But as a being of necessary existence, God must also be absolutely simple and single; inasmuch as the conception of a plurality in His essence would, at the same time, nullify the notion of the necessity of His existence. For the consolidation of this plurality into a unity must have been effected by another being different from itself; hence the existence of this plural being would be no more necessary, that is, determined by its own essence, but would be dependent upon that other being which brought about the unification (ib. p. 49; German trans., p. 63).
From the notion of absolute unity results the conception of the uniqueness of God; for if two beings of this kind could exist, the unity of God would be nullified, since to one, at least, of the units a special character must be attributed so as to distinguish it from the other (ib.). With the doctrine of the unity of God is connected the doctrine of the divine attributes, which is preceded in Abraham ibn Daud's system by the doctrine of the negative attributes, already accepted by Bahya ibn Paquda
Bahya ibn Paquda
Bahya ben Joseph ibn Paquda was a Jewish philosopher and rabbi who lived at Zaragoza, Spain, in the first half of the eleventh century...
("Ḥobot ha-Lebabot," i. 10) and by Judah ha-Levi (Kuzari
Kuzari
The Kitab al Khazari, commonly called the Kuzari, is one of most famous works of the medieval Spanish Jewish philosopher and poet Rabbi Yehuda Halevi, completed around 1140. Its title is an Arabic phrase meaning Book of the Khazars...
, ii. 2) from the older Arabic theology. According to Ibn Daud, only negative attributes, in the strict and proper sense, can be imputed to God; so that, whatever multiplicity of these negative attributes may be ascribed to Him, no multiplicity in the essence of God can result. Certainly this is equivalent to a renunciation of a positive conception of the Divine Being; for negative statements may suffice to prevent erroneous ideas, but a positive knowledge can never be obtained through them alone (ib. p. 5; German trans., p. 65). Indeed, our whole knowledge of God is limited to two certainties, (1) that He exists and (2) that His essence is incomprehensible (ib. p. 56; German trans., p. 71). In addition to the negative attributes, only relative attributes can be predicated of God; for even these latter, how many soever may be assumed, since they do not apply to the essence of God but only to His relation to the world, produce no modification in the notion of the unity of the Divine Being (ib. p. 54; German trans., p. 69).
From the speculative doctrines of faith, the truth of which can be proved only by reasoning, are to be distinguished the historical dogmas whose authenticity is based principally upon divine revelation, or, to speak more exactly, upon the historical tradition of such a revelation (ib. p. 69; German trans., p. 87). The tradition concerning an event that is reported to have taken place publicly before a great body of men, which originated, so to say, under the control of public opinion, without having been disputed by contemporaries, and has descended with an uninterrupted continuity, possesses an argumentativeness which can not be controverted even by the professional logician (ib. pp. 78, 81; German trans., pp. 98, 103). The trustworthiness of historical tradition forms a presumption in favor of the truth of prophecy
Prophecy
Prophecy is a process in which one or more messages that have been communicated to a prophet are then communicated to others. Such messages typically involve divine inspiration, interpretation, or revelation of conditioned events to come as well as testimonies or repeated revelations that the...
. In the true sense of the word, according to the axioms established above for the reliability of historical tradition, there can be only assertion of real prophecy when the divine revelations apply to important public matters; while those revelations which pertain to less important matters, or even to the personal affairs of a single individual, can not be classed under this head (ib. p. 71; German trans., p. 89). Thus, as ibn Daud remarks, perhaps with a reference to the miracles attributed to Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
, the authenticity of the Torah would be in a sorry plight if, instead of being based on miracles of real historic certainty, such as those of Moses, it were supported merely by miracles of such private character as the resurrections effected by Elijah and Elisha
Elisha
Elisha is a prophet mentioned in the Hebrew Bible and the Qur'an. His name is commonly transliterated into English as Elisha via Hebrew, Eliseus via Greek and Latin, or Alyasa via Arabic.-Biblical biography:...
(ib. p. 80; German trans., p. 101).
Theory of Prophecy
Relying upon the doctrines of Alfarabi and of Ibn Sina, Ibn Daud, whom Maimonides follows in many ways in his conception of prophecy, further sets forth that the gift of prophecy must not be considered as a phenomenon, interrupting the continuity of the development of the human mind, but in a certain sense as the final stage of a natural evolution whose lower phases, though they must be distinguished from prophecy proper, are nevertheless connected with the same faculty through a certain identity of nature. And even if the true stage of prophecy is reached, this gift is, nevertheless, still capable of progressive development, although it may exceptionally at once reach the highest perfection in particularly gifted individuals.The connection between the mind of the prophet and the higher intellects, principally with the Active Intelligence, furnishes a sufficient explanation of the higher cognitive faculty of the prophet, as well as of his power of transcending natural law
Natural law
Natural law, or the law of nature , is any system of law which is purportedly determined by nature, and thus universal. Classically, natural law refers to the use of reason to analyze human nature and deduce binding rules of moral behavior. Natural law is contrasted with the positive law Natural...
. Appointed to become an intermediary between God and man, the prophet is elevated almost to the plane of the separated intelligences, or angel
Angel
Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
s (ib. p. 73; German trans., p. 91).
On Predestination
Based upon the philosophical system developed above, and after the exposition of the doctrine of faith, the problem of human free willFree will
"To make my own decisions whether I am successful or not due to uncontrollable forces" -Troy MorrisonA pragmatic definition of free willFree will is the ability of agents to make choices free from certain kinds of constraints. The existence of free will and its exact nature and definition have long...
and its relation to faith in a divine providence
Divine providence
In Christian theology, divine providence, or simply providence, is God's activity in the world. " Providence" is also used as a title of God exercising His providence, and then the word are usually capitalized...
, or predestination
Predestination
Predestination, in theology is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God. John Calvin interpreted biblical predestination to mean that God willed eternal damnation for some people and salvation for others...
, may be regarded as much nearer its solution. The objection that faith in a divine providence is inconsistent with the existence of evil
Evil
Evil is the violation of, or intent to violate, some moral code. Evil is usually seen as the dualistic opposite of good. Definitions of evil vary along with analysis of its root motive causes, however general actions commonly considered evil include: conscious and deliberate wrongdoing,...
in the world, because God can not be the author of evil and good at the same time, is refuted by the fact that evil has no existence in itself, but is only the natural result of the absence of actual good, and that, consequently, evil needs no creator. The defects and imperfections which appear in this world are in nowise contradictory to the wisdom and goodness of God. The defects appear only to a finite conception which considers things separately and in themselves, and not in their connection with the whole. Viewed from a higher standpoint the imperfections adhering to things or individuals would perhaps, in their relation to the whole, even prove to be perfections and advantages (ib. p. 95; German trans., p. 121).
The human free-will as a subjective principle has for its objective correlate the notion of possibility, by which one of two alternatives may occur. This does not cause the divine omniscience to undergo any limitation; unless, misled by common usage, one should designate as "possible" those things whose undetermined state results not from their own essence, but only from our deficient knowledge of the essence. But this kind of possibility, which, indeed, is no possibility at all, must be eliminated from God as quite irreconcilable with His omniscience
Omniscience
Omniscience omniscient point-of-view in writing) is the capacity to know everything infinitely, or at least everything that can be known about a character including thoughts, feelings, life and the universe, etc. In Latin, omnis means "all" and sciens means "knowing"...
. In its strict and precise form, the notion of possibility is not at all antagonistic to the omniscience of God; for it is easily conceivable that God from the beginning regulated creation, so that for certain cases both alternatives should be "possible" events; that the Creator, in order to grant to human liberty the opportunity to display its own energy, left the final issue of certain actions undecided even for His own knowledge (ib. p. 96; German trans., p. 123).
Human free-will, it is true, suffers a certain limitation through the variety of moral dispositions, partly due to natural causes, to be found in single individuals, as also in entire nations. But man is able to overcome his natural disposition and appetites, and to lift himself to a higher plane of morality, by purifying and ennobling himself (ib. p. 97; German trans., p. 124). The Torah, and the study of ethics which forms a part of practical philosophy and is designated, by an expression borrowed from Plato ("Gorgias," 464), as the "doctrine of the healing of souls," are the guiding stars to this exalted plane; but no scientific presentation of practical philosophy approaches in this regard the lofty heights of the Scriptures, wherein are clearly expressed the most sublime moral principles known to philosophers (ib. pp. 98, 101; German trans., pp. 126, 130).
The ceremonial laws also serve the purpose of moral education, and are, therefore, in view of their ethical tendency, to be numbered among the moral laws; although when compared with the doctrines of faith and the ethical laws proper, they have only a subordinate importance, as the Holy Scriptures also attribute to the sacrifices a relatively minor importance in comparison with the moral laws (ib. p. 102; German trans., p. 131).