Abstract

This book explores the major philosophical issues in the historic interplay of Islamic and Jewish philosophy. The problems considered are issues of abiding philosophical interest:* Freedom and determinism* The nature and meaning of history* The basis of ethical values* The foundations and social implications of friendship* The viability and relevance of the idea of GodThe approach taken here is distinctive in several ways. The perspective is cross-cultural, rather than parochial, synthetic rather than descriptive. The object is not to find the 'sources' of ideas, as if to credit the philosophical originality of one group or cast aspersions on the philosophical dependency of another, but rather to follow a conversation that takes place across the centuries.