The Legacy of Maimonides

The conflict between religion and science has been a perennial problem in human thought. One of the most brilliant efforts to cope with it is that of Moses Maimonides. Born in the latter part of the twelfth century (1135?1205) when Aristotelian naturalism proclaimed its bold challenge to any revealed religion in the name of the sufficiency of reason, and its fruits, the natural sciences, Moses Maimonides led in an act of meditation that broke new ground in the understanding both of religion as well as of science. Dr. Bokser examines the basic elements of his thought and seeks to indicate what in it was of transient character and what remains cogent for the religio-cultural problem of our own time.