The Existence of God: Maimonides' Intricate Argument

Historians of medieval Jewish philosophy have long debated what, if anything, the esoteric message of Moses Maimonides' (1138-1204) philosophical work, The Guide of the Perplexed, was. Apparent self-contradictions in Maimonides' text led scholars to speculate about the dissident if not heretic opinions that the medieval Jewish philosopher secretly held without stating them openly. This study claims that the central enterprise of Maimonidean thought was not the esoteric acceptance or refusal of religious dogmas but developing a consistent argument to prove God's existence. This task was far more difficult (and interesting) than it is usually assumed in secondary literature. Maimonides' proofs for God's existence are seemingly not consistent with his argumentation to prove the creation of the world. Eliminating this inconsistency was one of the greatest challenges for Maimonidean philosophy and theology. The analysis attempted here sheds light on the various ways Maimonides and some of his medieval readers tried to cope with the problem and may benefit not only students of medieval Jewish philosophy alone but anyone interested in the question whether God exists.