Gersonides – translating divinity within the limits of knowledge

Book chapter


Lawrence, S. 2023. Gersonides – translating divinity within the limits of knowledge. in: Vestrucci, A. (ed.) Beyond Babel: Religion and Linguistic Pluralism Cham, Switzerland. Springer. pp. 215–226
Chapter titleGersonides – translating divinity within the limits of knowledge
AuthorsLawrence, S.
Abstract

Gersonides (1288–1344), who is central to this chapter, lived in Orange, a small town in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region which today finds itself part of France. He wrote exclusively in Hebrew, and even now most of his scientific work hasn’t been translated to modern European languages. Although his major contributions to theology and Judaism were often seen as contrary to the majority views, and sometimes even undesirable, his mathematical works remained largely unknown, partially because he wrote exclusively in Hebrew. In this regard we will investigate briefly his world-view, his epistemological method, and finally mention some of his contributions to mathematics. Gersonides’ opus is situated within the intersections of the original language in which he wrote and our changing interpretations of this work as well as between his philosophical theology and mathematics.

KeywordsGersonides; Free will; Hebrew; Theology; Mathematics
Sustainable Development Goals10 Reduced inequalities
Middlesex University ThemeCreativity, Culture & Enterprise
Research GroupMESH (Mathematics, Education, Society, History)
Page range215–226
Book titleBeyond Babel: Religion and Linguistic Pluralism
EditorsVestrucci, A.
PublisherSpringer
Place of publicationCham, Switzerland.
SeriesSophia Studies in Cross-cultural Philosophy of Traditions and Cultures
ISBN
Hardcover9783031421266
Paperback9783031421297
Electronic9783031421273
ISSN2211-1107
Electronic2211-1115
Publication dates
Online01 Nov 2023
Print01 Nov 2023
Publication process dates
AcceptedJul 2022
Deposited19 Jan 2024
Output statusPublished
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-42127-3_15
LanguageEnglish
Permalink -

https://repository.mdx.ac.uk/item/ywy79

  • 64
    total views
  • 0
    total downloads
  • 2
    views this month
  • 0
    downloads this month

Export as

Related outputs

A little history of mathematics
Lawrence, S. 2025. A little history of mathematics. New York & London Yale University Press.
Mathematical meditations
Lawrence, S. 2025. Mathematical meditations. London & New York Taylor & Francis (Routledge).
Authenticity in learning, teaching and assessment
Masterson, B., Sharples, N., Jones, M., Megeney, A. and Lawrence, S. 2024. Authenticity in learning, teaching and assessment. MSOR Connections. 22 (2), pp. 29-36. https://doi.org/10.21100/msor.v22i2.1488
Revising the role of the history of mathematics in post-pandemic world
Lawrence, S., Megeney, A., Sharples, N., Masterson, B. and Jones, M. 2022. Revising the role of the history of mathematics in post-pandemic world. Uzdanica. XIX, pp. 17-28. https://doi.org/10.46793/Uzdanica19.S.017L
New Math and the South Slavs
Lawrence, S. 2023. New Math and the South Slavs. in: De Bock, D. (ed.) Modern Mathematics: An International Movement? Cham Springer. pp. 303–317
Book review: The new mathematics education of new Europe. Alexander Karp (Ed.) (2020) Eastern European mathematics education in the decades of change
Lawrence, S. 2023. Book review: The new mathematics education of new Europe. Alexander Karp (Ed.) (2020) Eastern European mathematics education in the decades of change. Educational Studies in Mathematics. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10649-023-10269-2
Student video curation
Jones, M., Lawrence, S., Masterson, B., Megeney, A. and Sharples, N. 2023. Student video curation. MSOR Connections. 21 (2), pp. 15-24. https://doi.org/10.21100/msor.v21i2.1403
Authentic by design: developing mathematicians for the talent economy
Masterson, B., Jones, M., Lawrence, S., Megeney, A. and Sharples, N. 2023. Authentic by design: developing mathematicians for the talent economy. MSOR Connections. 21 (2), pp. 44-51. https://doi.org/10.21100/msor.v21i2.1400
Student video curation
Jones, M., Lawrence, S., Masterson, B., Megeney, A. and Sharples, N. 2022. Student video curation. CETL-MSOR Conference 2022. Abertay University, Dundee, UK 01 - 02 Sep 2022
Authentic by design: developing mathematicians for the talent economy
Masterson, B., Megeney, A., Sharples, N., Lawrence, S. and Jones, M. 2022. Authentic by design: developing mathematicians for the talent economy. CETL-MSOR Conference 2022. Abertay University, Dundee, UK 01 - 02 Sep 2022
Serbian mathematics education periodicals for the New Millennium
Lawrence, S. 2021. Serbian mathematics education periodicals for the New Millennium. ZDM – Mathematics Education. 53 (7), pp. 1555-1564. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11858-021-01298-3
History of mathematics in education and history of mathematics education – mathematical education cultures. Special issue: Teaching innovations, Vol. 27 No. 3
Lawrence, S. 2014. History of mathematics in education and history of mathematics education – mathematical education cultures. Special issue: Teaching innovations, Vol. 27 No. 3. University of Belgrade, Teacher Education Faculty.
The art and architecture of mathematics education: a study in metaphors
Lawrence, S. 2018. The art and architecture of mathematics education: a study in metaphors. Barbin, E., Jankvist, U., Kjeldsen, T. and Smestad, B. (ed.) Eight European Summer University (ESU 8). Oslo Metropolitan University 20 - 24 Jul 2018 Oslo Metropolitan University. pp. 515-530
The epistemology of mathematics in the digital age
Lawrence, S. 2014. The epistemology of mathematics in the digital age. Sinteza Conference. Begrade, Serbia 25 - 26 Apr 2014 Singidunum University. pp. 62-65 https://doi.org/10.15308/sinteza-2014-62-65
The history of the fourth dimension: a way of engaging pupils in secondary classrooms
Lawrence, S. 2015. The history of the fourth dimension: a way of engaging pupils in secondary classrooms. Krainer, K. and Vondrová, N. (ed.) CERME 9 - Ninth Congress of the European Society for Research in Mathematics Education. Prague, Czech Republic 04 - 08 Feb 2015 Charles University in Prague, Faculty of Education and ERME. pp. 1846-1852
Learning new mathematics from old
Lawrence, S. 2018. Learning new mathematics from old. in: Clark, K., Kjeldsen, T., Schorcht, S. and Tzanakis, C. (ed.) Mathematics, education and history: Towards a harmonious partnership New York Springer International Publishing. pp. 367-382
The love affair with descriptive geometry: its history in Serbia
Jevtić-Novaković, K. and Lawrence, S. 2019. The love affair with descriptive geometry: its history in Serbia. in: Barbin, É., Menghini, M. and Volkert, K. (ed.) Descriptive Geometry, The Spread of a Polytechnic Art: The legacy of Gaspard Monge Cham, Switzerland Springer International Publishing. pp. 295-311
A theatre of mathematical history – a historical memoir
Lawrence, S. 2020. A theatre of mathematical history – a historical memoir. Teaching Innovations. 33 (1), pp. 123-135. https://doi.org/10.5937/inovacije2001124L
Birth of a theorem: a mathematical adventure by Cédric Villani (trans Malcolm DeBevoise, ill Claude Gongard). The Bodley Head, 2015, 272pp. [Book Review]
Lawrence, S. 2016. Birth of a theorem: a mathematical adventure by Cédric Villani (trans Malcolm DeBevoise, ill Claude Gongard). The Bodley Head, 2015, 272pp. [Book Review]. BSHM Bulletin: Journal of the British Society for the History of Mathematics. 31 (3), pp. 263-265. https://doi.org/10.1080/17498430.2016.1208394
Book Review: the power of a great introduction. Karp, Alexander, Schubring, Gert (Eds.) (2014). Handbook on the history of mathematics education
Lawrence, S. 2016. Book Review: the power of a great introduction. Karp, Alexander, Schubring, Gert (Eds.) (2014). Handbook on the history of mathematics education. Educational Studies in Mathematics. 92 (2), pp. 279-285. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10649-016-9688-5
Review of “What the Tortoise Said to Achilles”: Lewis Carroll's Paradox of Inference, special issue of: The Carrollian: The Lewis Carroll Journal, edited by Amirouche Moktefi and Francine F Abeles
Lawrence, S. 2018. Review of “What the Tortoise Said to Achilles”: Lewis Carroll's Paradox of Inference, special issue of: The Carrollian: The Lewis Carroll Journal, edited by Amirouche Moktefi and Francine F Abeles. BSHM Bulletin: Journal of the British Society for the History of Mathematics. 33 (3), pp. 194-195. https://doi.org/10.1080/17498430.2018.1472470
Mathematics education in the Balkan societies up to the WWI
Lawrence, S. 2014. Mathematics education in the Balkan societies up to the WWI. Teaching Innovations. 27 (3), pp. 46-57. https://doi.org/10.5937/inovacije1403046L
The old teacher Euclid: and his science in the art of finding one's mathematical voice
Lawrence, S. 2016. The old teacher Euclid: and his science in the art of finding one's mathematical voice. Menon: Journal of Educational Research.
Mihailo Petrović (1868-1943)
Lawrence, S. 2022. Mihailo Petrović (1868-1943). in: Furinghetti, F. and Giacardi, L. (ed.) The International Commission on Mathematical Instruction, 1908-2008: A history through the portraits of its officers and leading figures New York Springer.
A new year's present from a mathematician
Lawrence, S. 2019. A new year's present from a mathematician. New York Chapman & Hall / CRC Press.
Descriptive geometry in England: lost in translation
Lawrence, S. 2019. Descriptive geometry in England: lost in translation. in: Barbin, É., Menghini, M. and Volkert, K. (ed.) Descriptive geometry, the spread of a polytechnic art: the legacy of Gaspard Monge Cham, Switzerland Springer. pp. 313-335
What are we like...
Lawrence, S. 2016. What are we like... in: Larvor, B. (ed.) Mathematical Cultures: the London meetings 2012-2014 Cham, Switzerland Birkhäuser. pp. 111-125
Capital G for geometry: Masonic lore and the history of geometry
Lawrence, S. 2015. Capital G for geometry: Masonic lore and the history of geometry. in: Lawrence, S. and McCartney, M. (ed.) Mathematicians and their gods: interactions between mathematics and religious beliefs Oxford, UK Oxford University Press (OUP). pp. 167-190
Life, architecture, mathematics, and the fourth dimension
Lawrence, S. 2015. Life, architecture, mathematics, and the fourth dimension. Nexus Network Journal. 17 (2), pp. 587-604. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00004-014-0221-9
Developable surfaces: their history and application
Lawrence, S. 2011. Developable surfaces: their history and application. Nexus Network Journal. 13 (3), pp. 701-714. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00004-011-0087-z