The 2018 Workshop will be on Maimonides

hosted at the University of Denver

17-19 June 2018

Many thanks to the presenters and to attendees present in person and via Skype for a rich and valuable experience over the three days of this event.

Philosophy in the Abrahamic Traditions

Eleventh Annual Summer

International Live Video Workshop on

Rabbi Moses Maimonides

Summer 2018

Presented by the Departments of Philosophy at

The University of Denver and Marquette University

and

the University of Denver’s Center for Judaic Studies

Organizers:

Prof. Sarah Pessin, University of Denver

&

Prof. Richard C. Taylor, Marquette University

First held at Marquette University in 2008, this Summer Conference

alternates between the University of Denver and Marquette University.

Workshop Format & Schedule

2018 Presenters:

Dr. Sarah Pessin

Professor of Philosophy and Director, Center for Judaic Studies

University of Denver

“Doing, Making, Willing: From Aristotle's Efficient and Final Cause to Maimonides' Avicennian Divine Will”

Exploring the ideas of efficient and final cause from Greek-into-Arabic-into-Hebrew sources, this paper looks at key passages in the Guide of the Perplexed on ‘making’ and ‘creating’ in dialogue with Proclus and Theology of Aristotle and sets out to develop an Avicennian reading of creation and Divine Will in Maimonides.

Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1djEVCXu-Pw&feature=youtu.be

Dr. Charles Manekin

Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Joseph and Rebecca Meyerhoff Center of Jewish Studies, Univesity of Maryland

“Maimonides’ Rejection of the Avicennan Notion of Divine Will -- How Far Does It Go?” (Charles Manekin)

     This paper argues that the rejection is genuine, that Maimonides accepts the notion of an originated (vs. eternal)  Divine will, but that it remains for him an obscure matter, and it is this obscurity that generates problems/contradictions. For example, he allows for teleology in nature -- he thinks that Aristotle has amply demonstrated it -- but he also thinks that teleology is best explained on the assumption of a Divine particularizer. The paper suggests that this is another example of Maimonides trying to tread carefully between the Aristotelians and the mutakallimun. 

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4gD7p9Pl_w&t=409s

Dr. Daniel Davies

Fakultät für Geisteswissenschaften, Universität-Hamburg

“Abravanel on Maimonides on Creation and Divine Will”

     Using Isaac Abravanel and drawing on Avicenna and Aquinas, this paper sets out to explain a difference between how Maimonides seems to characterize the role that God's will plays in the world's creation. Whereas many readers see conflict between two different chapters in the Guide, Abravanel attempts to show that Maimonides talks about God's will and purpose in at least two different senses. One concerns the motivation for creating and the other reflects the teleology inherent in created beings. Exploring how Abravanel tries to square these positions, the paper also explores whether these insights can shed any light on Maimonides' claims about God's knowledge.

Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5e0MTO3re3Q

Four Contributed Papers by additional attendees:

Nicholas Oschman (Marquette University)

Richard Taylor (Marquette University)

Brett Yardley (Marquette University) &

Casey Flynn (University of Denver)

No fees are charged for participation or attendance at this event.

Event Location:

University of Denver, Denver, Colorado

Tentative Schedule:

(All times Denver US Mountain Time)

Philosophy in the Abrahamic Traditions (PAT)
11th Annual Summer International Live Video Workshop

Moses Maimonides

University of Denver • June 17-19, 2018
www.abrahamictraditions.org

Note: All three keynote video presentations are available for online for viewing at: https://academic.mu.edu/taylorr/The_Abrahamic_Traditions/2018_Summer_Conference_Denver.html

Presented by the Philosophy Departments of the
University of Denver & Marquette University
& the University of Denver’s Center for Judaic Studies


Contact information:
Dr. Sarah Pessin, CJS Director, sarah.pessin@du.edu
Dr. Amy Balogh, CJS Program Manager, amy.balogh@du.edu

Location for all PAT events:
University of Denver, Sturm College of Law (Ricketson Building) #450
2255 E. Evans Ave. • Denver, CO 80208

Internet Sign-on Instructions:
Connect your device to DU Wi-Fi then open your web browser on your device to be redirected to a login page. On that page, select “Guest.” No password required.

Tentative Schedule (All times US Mountain Time):

Sunday June 17:
1:30-3:30 pm Presentation #1 - Dr. Pessin (live) + text study
Dr. Taylor curates list of top 5 comments and questions

[1st hour= presentation; 2nd hour= text study, culminating in assembling Qs]

Break

3:45-6:00 pm 2 contributed papers:

1. •Nicholas Oschman, Marquette University, “Al-Fārābī and Maimonides on the Conditions for Prophethood”
   
   

2. •Richard C. Taylor, Marquette University, “Aquinas on Divine Attributes and His Identification of Avicenna as the Source for the Teaching of Maimonides”
   
   
   

Monday June 18:
9:00-11:00 am Presentation #2 (video) - Dr. Manekin + text study
Dr. Pessin and Dr. Taylor curate list of top 5 comments and questions
[1st hour= presentation; 2nd hour= text study, culminating in assembling Qs]

Break

11:15 am-1:15 pm Presentation #3 (video) - Dr. Davies + text study
Dr. Pessin and Dr. Taylor curate list of top 5 comments and questions
[1st hour= presentation; 2nd hour= text study, culminating in assembling Qs]

1:15-3:00 pm Lunch

3:00-5:00 pm 2 contributed papers:

1. •Brett Yardley, Marquette University, “A Testimonial Defense of Saadya Gaon’s ‘Tradition’ to Maimonides’s Guide of the Perplexed Critique”
   
   

2. •Casey Flynn, University of Denver, “The Parable of the City and the Turning of the Perplexed: A Maimonidean Expansion on the Talmudic Tale of the Four who Entered Pardes”
   
   

Tuesday June 19: Live Zoom Roundtables
9:00-10:00 am Discussion of Pessin presentation by main keynote speakers and audience

10:00-11:00 am Discussion of Manekin presentation by main keynote speakers and audience

Break

11:15-12:15 pm  Discussion of Davies presentation by main keynote speakers and audience

12:15 -1:15 pm Closing open discussion by all attendees

DU Visitor Guide
1. Libraries on Campus:
The Main Library at Anderson Academic Commons is located just off Evans Avenue (2150 East Evans Avenue, Denver, CO 80208); parking is available at various places near the Library. Visit here for a map of our main library and for links to parking details:
http://library.du.edu/maps/index.html

Here are some further contact details:
oLibrary URL: http://library.du.edu
oResearch Center 303-871-2905
oLending Desk 303-871-3707
oMusic Library 303-871-6421

We also have a library in our Sturm College of Law on our main campus (2255 E. Evans Avenue Denver, CO 80208); visit here for more details:
http://www.law.du.edu/index.php/library

Another library option while you are on campus is the library at the Iliff School of Theology which is located right next to our campus: 2201 S. University Blvd. / Tel. 800.678.3360

2. DU Operator:
303-871-2000

3. Supermarket, Gym, and Building Addresses for Sturm Hall, Anderson Academic Commons (library), Sturm College of Law:

Supermarket walking distance from campus:
Safeway, SE corner of Evans and Downing – from campus, walk West on Evans Ave. about 7 blocks

Coors Fitness Center, on campus:
2201 E Asbury Ave. (this is the building with the gold spire); call for daily pass info: 303. 871. 3845.

Sturm Hall at the University of Denver:
Corner of Asbury and Race: 2000 E Asbury Ave., Ste 257; Denver CO 80208

Anderson Academic Commons (includes Penrose Library):
2150 East Evans Avenue, Denver, CO 80208

Sturm College of Law, in the Ricketson Law Building
2255 E. Evans Ave., Denver, CO 80208


4. Getting Around: Bikes, Trains, Planes, Cars, Cabs, Parking, Campus Maps & Directions
Car Service / Taxi / Shuttle phone numbers:
Freedom Cab – 303-292-8900 / Yellow Cab – 303-777-7777 / Union Taxi – 303-922-2222 /
Metro Taxi – 303-333-3333
Super Shuttle (you can use for a ride to the airport; you can book in advance) – 303-374-4164

General Direction Tip: Mountains = West
The mountains (which you can see most days off in the distance) are West. If you are walking towards the mountains, it is safe to assume you are heading West.

For an online DU campus map:
Online version (with downloadable PDF) at: http://www.du.edu/utilities/maps.html
You can also download the ‘DU’ app for iPhone and Android (it has the DU map on it)

DU link to travel info (airport, buses, city bike rentals, Light Rail schedules, etc.):
http://www.du.edu/transcenter/GettingAroundTown.html#lightrail

Light Rail: The E, F and H lines stop at the University of Denver Station
Denver’s Light Rail system is operated by the Rapid Transit District (RTD) and is a very convenient way to access the University of Denver and downtown Denver. Trains run every 10 or 15 minutes.
•Location: The University of Denver light rail station is located at the north end of campus on Buchtel Blvd at High St. across from the Ritchie Center (the building with the gold spire visible from around campus).
•Get me from Nelson Hall to the DU Light Rail Station: From Nelson Hall, take a right (walk North) on High Street; the station is a few blocks straight ahead, across Buchtel Blvd.
•Get me from Sturm Hall to the DU Light Rail Station: Exit Sturm Hall at the door near Judaic Studies (Suite 157) and turn right (this is Race St.); turn left on Asbury Ave.; turn right at High St.; the station is a few blocks straight ahead, across Buchtel Blvd.
•Get me from Anderson Academic Commons to DU Light Rail Station: You will exit the building through the main doors on the South side. Follow the brick sidewalk to your right, then veer right down the hill towards a stoplight and crosswalk. Once at the street, walk West (left) along the concrete sidewalk until your reach High Street. Head North along High Street (you will cross Evans Avenue) for approximately four blocks, until you reach the light rail station.
•Purchase tickets: Tickets can be purchased on the Light Rail platform all the way towards the parking garage area; ticket prices are a few dollars each way, and depend on which zone you are traveling to – details are on the touchpad screen. BRING DOLLAR BILLS.
•Hours: Trains operate from about 5 am until about 2 am, with enhanced service during the 6 am to 9 am and 4 pm to 6 pm peak periods.
•To get to downtown, take the F or H line North-bound to 16th and California. (Downtown is NORTH of campus).
•More info: www.rtd-denver.com

Bus Routes that Serve DU:
24: University Blvd; every 30 mins.
21: Evans Ave, Connects with the Evans Ave. Light Rail station; every 15 mins.
To access route schedules and maps, visit www.rtd-denver.com and enter the route number into the Route Schedule Quick Finder.

Driving directions from I-25:
DU's campus is easily accessible from I-25, the main route running through the Denver metro area north/south. Campus lies just south and west of the intersection of I-25 and University Blvd. Exit I-25 at the University Boulevard exit. Go South on University Blvd, past the first intersection with a stoplight, then take a right onto Asbury Avenue.

Visitor Parking at DU:
Visitor Parking lots can be found across campus, and charge $1.25/hour for up to 5 hours.

For a parking map with Paid Hourly Parking lots marked in green, visit:
https://www.du.edu/media/documents/maps/map-parking.pdf

For general DU parking details and more information, visit:
https://www.du.edu/parking/

Four visitor parking lots close to Anderson Academic Commons and Sturm Hall are:
oLot 316  [“Sturm Hall Hourly Parking”] (corner of East Asbury Avenue and South Race Street; adjacent to Sturm Hall)
oLot 302 [“Driscoll Center Hourly Parking”] (corner of East Evans Avenue and South Race Street)
oLot 301/Lot E [“Race St. Hourly Parking”] (corner of East Evans Avenue and South High Street)
oLot 305 (near corner of South University and East Warren, right off traffic circle near DU admin buildings)

Walking Directions to the Anderson Academic Commons (DU’s main library) from 4 nearby Visitor Parking Lots:
From Lot 316 (corner of East Asbury Avenue and South Race Street): Exit on the East side of the parking lot, turn right (South), and continue along the concrete sidewalk until you reach Evans Avenue. Turn left (East) and continue along the concrete sidewalk until you reach a crosswalk and traffic light (approximately one block). Use the crosswalk to cross Evans Avenue and continue up the hill on the other side using the brick sidewalk. Your destination will be the large building on the left.
From Lot 302 (corner of East Evans Avenue and South Race Street): Exit on the South side of the parking lot, turn left (East), and continue along the concrete sidewalk until you reach a crosswalk and traffic light (approximately one block). Use the crosswalk to cross Evans Avenue and continue up the hill on the other side using the brick sidewalk. Your destination will be the large building on the left.
From Lot 301/Lot E (corner of East Evans Avenue and South High Street): Exit the North side of the parking garage, turn right (East), and continue along the concrete sidewalk until you reach a crosswalk and traffic light (approximately one block). At this junction, turn right and head up the hill along the brick sidewalk. Your destination will be the large building on the left.
From Lot 305 (near corner of South University Blvd and East Warren Ave): Exit lot on West side. Head West along any of the brick sidewalks you see. You will see the Academic Commons across the large green space to your right.

Contributed Papers:

(1) Nicholas Oschman, Marquette University

“Al-Fārābī and Maimonides on the Conditions for Prophethood”

Abstract: In a famous passage of the Guide of the Perplexed, Section Two, Chapter 32, Maimonides claims that his own doctrine of prophecy is identical to the opinion of the philosophers, excepting one factor: the role played by the Divine Will (mashī’a ’ilāhiyya). Whereas the philosophers, namely al-Fārābī and Avicenna, view prophecy to be an entirely natural process, achieved only when human beings perfect their nature, Maimonides explains that, while training and perfection are required for prophecy to occur, God must also will that a prophet become a prophet. How the Divine Will determines who will become a prophet remains unclear, however, especially given Maimonides’ insistence that God’s Will is not distinct from his Wisdom (and neither are distinct from his Essence). This has led some to believe that Maimonides’ disagreement with the philosophers is a distinction without a difference. This talk will explore Maimonides’ position, especially in contrast with the one espoused by al-Fārābī, and emphasize how Maimonides’ doctrine of particularization (taḵṣīṣ) allows for his disagreement with the philosophers.

(2) Richard C. Taylor, Marquette University

“Aquinas on Divine Attributes and His Identification of Avicenna as the Source for the Teaching of Maimonides”

Aquinas famously rejected the agnostic account of human apprehension of Divine Attributes he found in Maimonides and instead proposed an alternative way by which human beings could have some very modest apprehension of those Attributes.  In the course of doing so in his Commentary on the Sentences, his first major work, Aquinas was the first to identify the philosophical source for the reasoning of Maimonides in the Guide for the Perplexed as Avicenna, a thinker not once cited by Maimonides in the Guide. What is particularly curious is that Aquinas set out this account not in the original version of his Commentary but rather only in an insertion into that work years later. This short presentation explains these complex matters and raises the question of the cogency of Aquinas’s positive view of the human apprehension of Divine Attributes.

(3) Brett Yardley, Marquette University

“A Testimonial Defense of Saadya Gaon’s “Tradition” to Maimonides’s Guide of the Perplexed Critique”

In The Book of Doctrines and Beliefs, Saadya Gaon sought to rescue his readers from errors and doubt by promoting two classes of laws: the “laws of reason (‘aqliyyât) and the “laws of revelation” (sam‘iyyât) in equal service to one another.  Centuries later, Moses Maimonides critiqued the similar claims of Islamic Kalaam’s reason-based theology in The Guide of the Perplexed for shackling reason with religious conclusions and actually making reason subservient to revelation.  If one grants that Maimonides’s objections to Kalaam’s theological reasoning are also applicable to Gaon’s two-truth approach to certainty, can Gaon’s approach be defended from the charge that his employment of reason is ultimately grounded in revelation? 

After introducing Maimonides’s critique of Kalaam and how it can be applied to Gaon, I will argue that Saadya can escape Maimonides critique insofar as “tradition” can be rationally accounted for as a form of testimony.  I will show that the key concepts of “tradition” and “revelation” within the “laws of revelation” are inherently testimonial, since the term “revelation” is derived from the Arabic word “to hear” (sami`a) while “tradition” is derived from Arabic world “to report” (kabara).  Since, “tradition” is a report that is heard via “revelation,” obtaining knowledge in this manner is just as rational as obtaining knowledge through reports received from any trustworthy speaker.  Then, drawing upon contemporary arguments about testimony, I will argue that God qualifies as a speaker despite not having a physical tongue with which to “speak” pace Maimonides.  Thus, insofar as the laws of revelation are received in accordance within a rational account of testimony from a trustworthy speaker—God, such knowledge is not only a source of immediate and certain knowledge, but also inseparably rational and revealed as Saadya claims.

(4) Forthcoming