Philosophy
Moses Ibn Ezra’s philosophical contributions were considered only minor when compared to his contributions to poetry and literature. One piece of literature that highlights Ezra’s philosophical viewpoints was the al-Maqāla bi al-Ḥadīqa fi Maʿnā al-Majāz wa al-Ḥaqīqa. This was an Arabic work and much of it reiterated his poetic beliefs of the relationship between man and God and the unknowability of God. Ezra had a neoplatonic orientation towards his philosophical attitudes with God and man. The neoplatonic approach by Ezra focuses on man as a microcosm so that God is considered self-subsistent, unitary being who preceded creation therefore ultimately led to the perfection of man’s creation. It reiterates that God’s perfection cannot be comprehended by the human mind and the finite and imperfect human mind cannot know the infinite and perfect God. Ezra’s philosophy also revolves around the use of intellect and how the active intellect was considered God’s first creation. Ezra claims that the intellect is a pure substance which all things are inherently created from. Along with the active intellect is another form Ezra describes as the passive intellect. This form of intellect is considered to be above the active intellect and superior to the rational soul.
Read more about this topic: Moses Ibn Ezra, His Poetry
Famous quotes containing the word philosophy:
“Of your philosophy you make no use
If you give place to accidental evils.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“Methinks it would be some advantage to philosophy if men were named merely in the gross, as they are known. It would be necessary only to know the genus and perhaps the race or variety, to know the individual. We are not prepared to believe that every private soldier in a Roman army had a name of his own,—because we have not supposed that he had a character of his own.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“If you look at history you’ll find that no state has been so plagued by its rulers as when power has fallen into the hands of some dabbler in philosophy or literary addict.”
—Desiderius Erasmus (c. 1466–1536)