Philosopher-King in Medieval and Renaissance Jewish Political Thought

Book Description
Illustrates Plato's theory of the philosopher-king in the context of medieval Jewish thought.

From the Back Cover
This original treatment of medieval and Renaissance Jewish thinkers expands the scope of Jewish philosophy and adds new depth to our understanding of Jewish culture of the period. While medieval Christian political philosophy was based on Aristotle's Politics, Muslim and Jewish philosophy adhered to the Platonic tradition. In this book, Abraham Melamed explores a major aspect of this tradition-the theory of the philosopher-king-as it manifested itself in medieval Jewish political philosophy, tracing the theory's emergence in Jewish thought as well as its patterns of transmittal, adaptation, and absorption. The Maimonidean encounter with the theory, via al-Farabi, is also examined, as is its influence upon later scholars such as Felaquera, ibn Latif, Narboni, Shemtov ibn Shemtov, Polkar, Alemanno, Abarbanel, and others. Also discussed is the influence of Averroe's commentary on Plato's Republic, and the Machiavellian rejection of the theory of the philosopher-king and its influence upon early modern Jewish scholars, such as Simone Luzzatto and Spinoza, who rejected it in favor of a so-called Republican attitude.

About the Author
Abraham Melamed is Professor of Jewish History and ThoughtPhilosophy at the University of Haifa.


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The first encounter between Plato's concept of the philosopher king and Jewish political tradition came in Hellenistic-Roman times, but Melamed (Jewish philosophy, U. of Haifa) focuses on its renewal beginning about the 10th century in the wake of Platonic political thought penetrating Muslim culture. He follows its course to the rejection of the notion by Jewish culture in Western Europe on the eve of the Enlightenment. Annotation c. Book News, Inc.,Portland, OR


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