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
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