Tag Archives: reason

Rational Religion and Aesthetic Philosophy (Maimonides)

Posted on September 10, 2020 by zjb

Was it a gentle, gnostic melancholy? A critical theorist and colleague friend who I am positive is “definitely not religious” makes an offhand comment in the early months of the pandemic about “the cruelty of nature.” The anthropomorphism caught my … Continue reading →

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(Knowledge/Power) Maimonides (Art of Reason)  

Posted on April 20, 2020 by zjb

Maimonidean reason has in common with Foucault a basic correlation between knowledge and power. It pops up in the introduction to Commentary on the Mishnah. Wisdom adds to the inner power of a person which is the actualization of human … Continue reading →

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Teshuva Love-Sick (Maimonides)

Posted on October 7, 2019 by zjb

Proving something about the sensual, even arabesque, core at the heart of Maimonidean rationalism by way of proving R. Akiva’s dictum that the Song of Songs is the Holy of Holies is some over the top love-sick camp from Maimonides … Continue reading →

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Maimonides (Luxe Edition)

Posted on November 7, 2012 by zjb

[Samuel ibn Tibbon, Hebrew translation of Maimonides, Guide of the Perplexed (Spain, 1300)] This luxe edition throws a different light upon the Guide of the Perplexed, Maimonides, and medieval rationalism. I love the aristocratic elegance, the abstract and organic components, … Continue reading →

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Roof-Top (New York) (Rational)

Posted on July 31, 2012 by zjb

I really like these roof-top views of garden life from somewhere over the Upper West Side. The buildings on “fire” are across the Hudson in New Jersey at sunset. As per Rilke from somewhere in the Duino Elegies, Hiersein ist herrlich. … Continue reading →

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Art & Reason (Frank Stella: Black, Aluminum, Copper Paintings)

Posted on May 10, 2012 by zjb

 (Frank Stella at L & M Arts, New York) Went to see the Black, Aluminum, and Copper painting by Frank Stella at L & M Arts (on view through June 2). They are meant to call attention back to the … Continue reading →

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Swooners and Skeptics (Responding to Martin Kavka, Again)

Posted on April 23, 2012 by zjb

  (Hermes and company, Grand Central Station, New York) I’m not sure what to do. I have colleague-friends who are incredibly smart. Sometimes they post online, and I want to respond to them at JPP. The problem is that, well, … Continue reading →

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Ephemera: Visual and non-Visual Impressions

Posted on February 16, 2012 by zjb

    Coming up to Syracuse yesterday on rt. 17 along the lower rim of the Catskills, I was struck by the visual match between: [1] the road covered in a thick residue of road salt [2] the slate grey … Continue reading →

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Religion/Judaism

Posted on January 13, 2012 by zjb

  So far in a “Jewish philosophy place” there’s been almost nothing about Judaism. This may in part be serendipitous, relating to what I happen to be thinking about at this particular moment. Certainly, it’s not what I’m reading right … Continue reading →

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