Preview
  • Maimonides and St. Thomas Aquinas

  • The Lives and Works of the Middle Ages’ Most Influential Religious Philosophers
  • By: Charles River Editors
  • Narrated by: Colin Fluxman
  • Length: 2 hrs and 10 mins
  • 4.0 out of 5 stars (5 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Maimonides and St. Thomas Aquinas

By: Charles River Editors
Narrated by: Colin Fluxman
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $5.42

Buy for $5.42

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

“One should accept the truth from whatever source it proceeds.” (Maimonides)

Moses Ben Maimon, frequently called Maimonides, was a medieval philosopher who revolutionized thinking about ethics, reason, and the Jewish Torah through his emphasis on reason and evidence. His works were broadly accepted by the Sephardi Jewish community and spread across the medieval world, reaching the Jewish populations as far as Yemen, and though he lived in the 12th century, Maimonides continues to be one of the most studied scholars of Jewish law, philosophy, and theology. Many consider him forward-thinking for his time, and his texts continue to reach numerous modern audiences through translations, commentaries, and in-depth study.

Maimonides’ ideas and theological interpretations remain influential in contemporary times. His work influenced numerous Jewish and Islamic scholars, while outside of religion, his ideas were popular topics in philosophy and went on to influence thinkers like Thomas Aquinas, Leibnitz, Leo Strauss, and the Humanist intellectual movement. Of particular importance was his emphasis on personal humility, forming decisions based on a body of evidence, and reasoning through arguments before arriving at a conclusion. His work was diverse, forward-thinking for his time, and demonstrated his intellectual pursuits across numerous fields. As a result, despite living almost 1,000 years ago, he continues to be one of the most influential scholars of ethics and Jewish philosophy and law due to the comprehensive and rationalist nature of his work.

It would be hard to overstate the influence that St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) has had on both the Catholic world and the West as a whole over the last 750 years. Even in secular circles, Aquinas is known as one of the most important medieval philosophers, and in many respects a harbinger of the Renaissance that began to flourish across Europe in the centuries that followed his life. His groundbreaking work, Summa Theologica, remains one of the most influential philosophical texts in history, earning him a place in the pantheon alongside Plato, Aristotle, and Socrates.

Aquinas had just as great an influence on Christianity as well. His philosophical works forged and established natural theology, squaring Catholicism with reason and logic, the ideals and aspects of modern thought that really took hold during the Renaissance. With his work on logic, theology, and metaphysics, as one of the Church’s Doctors, Thomas Aquinas remains the Catholic Church’s greatest theologian and philosopher, and he is still held out by the Church as the role model for those studying to become a Catholic priest.

Maimonides and St. Thomas Aquinas: The Lives and Works of the Middle Ages’ Most Influential Religious Philosophers profiles the two philosophers, from their backgrounds to their most important ideas.

©2019 Charles River Editors (P)2019 Charles River Editors
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

What listeners say about Maimonides and St. Thomas Aquinas

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1
  • 4 Stars
    3
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Good introduction to two great Medieval philosophers

This is a clear introduction to Maimonides and Thomas Aquinas. It gave key insights and the intellectual strengths of both. Especially interesting was the points of relevance to the present intellectual situation that Thomas' approach to answering the people of his day has. Especially helpful was Thomas' ability to know his opponents well and truly answer them with facts rather than anger or other emotions. Charles Editors did a good job.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Very thin on info

Not a lot of substance to this book. Both of these thinkers have big ideas and none of them come across well.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!