Maimonides on the Origin of the World

"Although Maimonides' discussion of creation is one of his greatest contributions - he himself claimed that belief in creation is second in importance only to belief in God - there is still considerable debate on what that contribution was. Kenneth Seeskin takes a close look at the problems Maimonides faced and the sources from which he drew. He argues that Maimonides meant exactly what he said: the world was created be a free act of God so the existence of everything other than God is contingent. In religious terms, existence is a gift. To reach this conclusion, Seeskin examines Maimonides' view of God, miracles, the limits of human knowledge, and the claims of astronomy to be a science.

Clearly written and closely argued, Maimonides on the Origin of the World takes up questions of perennial interest."--Jacket.